Limerence
by pinkconchshell
Summary: In a desperate attempt to get the guy she likes to notice her, Rose convinces Scorpius that it would benefit him if they pretended to go out. With Scorpius in love with Lily, and Rose and Lily in love with the same guy, things rapidly get complicated. Little did Rose expect to actually fall in love with her family's sworn rival...wait - that sounds oddly familiar. Rose/Scorpius
1. Chapter 1

Rose / Scorpius Story

So, like yeah.

Okay, here's the deal: Dillon Wood likes Marissa Hanning, who's going out with Eric Thomas, who's cheating on her with Eva Rubia, who's best friends with Raffie Patil, who's secretly in love with her, but is having a flirtationship with Adrianne Belby, who used to go out with Scorpius Malfoy, who's chasing after Lily Potter, who is totally head over heels for Jun Corner.

My issue? I like Jun Corner.

Yeah, I know, I'm a terrible person. I'm crushing on the same guy as my cousin, the infamous Jun Corner(!) who got all "Outstandings" on his OWLs fifth year, who was Prefect, is now Head Boy, captain of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, was offered an internship for Junior Minister by Kingsley Shaklebolt, and is so, so, _so _bloody handsome.

Like, seriously hot. He can make any girl have yellow fever. Even if he's only half. Ahem.

But yeah, Lily's liked him since the fourth year, and you know, I didn't think it was that big of a deal because a lot of girls like him and he's always getting all these love letters and creepy little gifts from all his 'fangirls', and he's never really showed any interest in them. Like yeah, he goes out with girls and stuff – he even dated Athena Boot for like, two years, on and off – but other than that, the boy's not really that much of a flirt.

And then, last year, once after practice, he winked at Lily.

She'd liked him then, of course (I mean, who doesn't?), but I think that was when she really, truly fell for him. Like, she would stare at him during meals in the Great Hall and go watch his Quidditch practices with her Ravenclaw friends, and even come up and talk with us whenever he stopped to chat with me. I have to admit, little Lily's got guts. I mean yeah, I like him, and I go up and talk to him, but she's two years younger than Jun is and he's got that whole "star appeal" thing going for him, not to mention he's really, _really_ hot.

But anyways, I'm getting ahead of myself.

Actually, I first realized I liked him when we played Ravenclaw in the finals for the House Cup my fifth year. I'd known Jun for a really long time by then, and we got along well, sat with our separate groups in class but would still pass notes with each other, say hi in the halls, ask for help when we didn't understand anything. But that game, I was playing Chaser, he was playing Keeper, and someone aimed an enormous Bludger at my head. No, I'm serious! It wasn't a normal Bludger – it was at least two times the size of a Quaffle and I swear it was made of titanium or something because I could literally feel it _bruising_ the air as it zoomed past me. Anyways, it scared the living daylights out of me and I swerved to avoid it, didn't look where I was going, and crashed right into Jun. I fell off my broom and started praying in case I died, but I felt this really warm arm wrap around my waist and suddenly my face was buried in this really muscular, hot neck, and I look up and it's Jun; his cheeks are flushing and his hair is blowing and his smile is gleaming – and bada bing, bada boom! I'm in love.

So yeah, it's seventh year now, and I'm about to turn eighteen (it's March), and Jun still has absolutely no idea that I'm head over heels for him. Actually, when I found out he broke up with Athena for the first time, I was gonna tell him, but then they got back together. And then she broke up with him after a fight, and I was on the Consolation Squad, and was planning the perfect scenario in my head of confessing my undying love to him in the moonlight, but then they got back together. Again. So that went on for the better part of the last two years, and so finally I was just like 'whatever' and pretty much gave up on ever getting Jun Corner to love me.

And _then_, wouldn't you believe it, Scorpius Malfoy came up to me one day saying that he was in love with Lily and wanted my help to get her to go out with him.

"I'm sorry – WHAT?!" I shouted, making everybody in the library turn and stare.

"Come on, Weasley!" he pouted, giving me a puppy dog face. "In return, I'll help you get Corner. You like him, right? Everyone knows, you know."

I felt myself blushing. "Not _every_one-"

"Yes, _every_one. We all see you fawning over him during lessons and hanging on every word he says, sidling up to him during Prefect meetings and batting your eyelashes at him. It's pretty obvious, Rosie."

Okay, Scorp and I have been friends since, like, third year. I found out he loves Halo, he found out I play Call of Duty; we hit it off from there. We're not super close or anything, but we can be ourselves around each other; I can punch him, push him, call him names, slap the back of his head when I'm walking by, etc., etc. He comes to me for girl advice a lot, and homework help, and even asks if he can borrow some money ("borrow" meaning "have", and thank you very much) from time to time. I like the kid a lot; he's really funny and sweet, not like how Mum and Dad describe his father at all.

So I glared at him and said "Okay, fine. Maybe I have a teensy bit of a crush on the guy. So what? I'll graduate and move on, probably marry a muggle Mafia lord and live it up until I'm twenty five, then have six babies and name all the boys 'Manny' and all the girls 'Delilah'. And then go to cooking school and fatten them up, and then when they have kids I'll fatten those up, and me and my Mafia lord husband will live in a giant mansion with a pool and a house elf, and life will be good. See, I don't need Jun Corner!"

"No job?"

"I'll write a novel. A children's story. Can you see it now? 'Harry Potter' and the Great Bloody Snake. Or 'Harry Potter' and the Pedophilic Rat. They're going to love it."

"It's gonna tank."

"_You're_ gonna tank," I said, kicking his foot under the desk. "Just you wait, I'll be the wealthiest, most gorgeous woman in all Britain and you'll be stuck with Lily, still looking like an albino child."

"Does that mean you'll help me?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrows at me. I glanced at him. He smiled. I narrowed my eyes. He gave me a puppy face. I cracked.

"Yeah, okay," I grumbled, heaving a sigh. "A Potter and Malfoy – their families hate each other, but their children are desperately in love – talk about romantic. But if you break my little cousin's heart-"

"Rose, relax," he said, patting my shoulder. "I love her. I love Lily so much it hurts. I'll die before I do anything to hurt her."

"So…what do you propose we do?" I said, after a minute of him sitting there and beaming at me.

"Oh!" he said, sounding very surprised. "Did you want me to come up with the plan?"

I rolled my eyes. "Well, yeah. I mean, you were the one who wanted me to help you get my cousin to fall in love with you. It'd be really stupid of you to come up and recruit my services without a fully formulated battle strategy."

"Yeah, well, I'll leave the strategizing to you," he said, coming over to my side of the table and kneeling down in front of me. He took my hand in both of his dramatically.

"Thank you so much, Rose Weasley, for helping me attain the love of my life!" He declared, placing a kiss on the back of my hand. I couldn't help it. I blushed. What? Scorp's really, really attractive, and it's not the worst thing to have him kiss your hand all gallantly like that. He stood up and gave me a hug. "See you in class tomorrow!" he said excitedly, and sped off, earning lots of strange looks from nearby students. I shook my head and turned back in towards the table.

"Hey, Rose," I heard someone say. I looked and saw that it was Jun, his black hair ruffled and shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows. I could have drooled, he made that look so hot.

"Oh, hi Jun," I said brightly, smiling my crinkly-eyed smile at him. It was my flirty smile (Yes, I have a flirty smile, sue me). "Do you want to sit down or something?"

"Aw, no,'' he said, looking sheepish for some reason. "I mean – I just saw – that is – are you and Malfoy going out now?"

"Huh?" I said, completely caught off guard. "Me and Malfoy? Like, Scorpius Malfoy? AHAHAHAHA!" I had to exercise some major restraint to keep my laugh under fifty decibels after Madam Pince-Filch shushed me.

"Oh, so you're not?" Jun said, a weak smile on his face. I stopped laughing immediately when a sudden thought hit me.

Scorpius liked Lily, right? And Lily liked Jun. And I liked Jun. Scorp said he would help _me_ get Jun if I helped _him_ get Lily. Which would mean; me + Jun, and Lily + Scorpius. But how would we get Lily to like Scorp? And get Jun to like me? Unless…but no…well, it was worth a shot.

"Yeah," I said, looking into his beautiful brown eyes and feeling my heartbeat quicken. "Scorp and I are going out. He just asked me right now, and I said yes! Isn't it great?"

**So, like, yeah. **

**Rose and Scorpius were fated to be together ever since Ron told her to stay away. :P Gotta love reverse psychology. **

**Anyways, if it wasn't clear: Jun's (pronounced JOON) in Ravenclaw, Rose & Lily (And Hugo, James, and Albus) are in Gryffindor, and Scorp's in Slytherin. Jun is Michael Corner and Cho Chang's son. :)**

**ALSO, I'm writing a storryy! It's called Stroke of Midnight and it's on FiictionPress,net, and my name is TheDollophead (points to whoever knows where that's from). If y'all like m'writing, yall could look it up 3 **


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

**I FORGOT TO SAY: I own nothing. **

**Sorry! ^^**

"I'm sorry – WHAT?" Scorpius shouted, standing up.

"Shh-hh!" I hissed, smacking him upside the head. "People will hear you!"

"Well, I don't care!" Scorp shouted, making all the Slytherins at the table turn and stare at us curiously. "Weasley, how could you do something like this without asking me first?"

"Will you calm down?" I said soothingly, trying to keep him calm. "Look, I've got this all figured out, alright? Jun looked a little bit…like he had the potential to be jealous last night, and it kind of clicked into place that if you and I pretended to go out, we could try to make him jealous of you, leaving a poor, heartbroken Lily all alone. And that's where _you_ could come in, a knight in shining silver (and green) armor, and totally sweep her off her feet. You tutor her in what, again?"

"Potions."

"Oh, Potions, perfect! Here's the scenario: You and Lily will be sitting close together, talking in low voices, some nice candles giving just the right amount of light. You crack some jokes, turn on the charm, give her that winning smile (I took his cheeks in my fingers and pinched them), and then _I'll_ come in and ruin the mood, and we can act all lovey-dovey, and it'll make her realize she's _jealous_!"

"Hmm," he said, stroking his chin. "That does kinda sound a tiny bit foolproof."

"Exactly!" I exclaimed, throwing my arm around his shoulder. Well, hey, we were supposed to be a loving couple, why not play it up best we could? Besides…I could see Jun watching out of the corner of my eye. "Trust the RoseMaster-"

"RoseMaster?"

"Shut up. I'll make this work, alright? I promise," I assured him, smiling brightly. He heaved a sigh.

"Yeah, okay," Scorp muttered. "Babe."

I nearly choked on my own bile. "Um – what did you just call me?"

He smirked – God he was hot when he did that. I could see why girls threw themselves at his feet. "We'll we're a thing now, _darling_, and it's kind of a thing for lovers to call each other cute nicknames. 'Babe' and 'baby' are just standard monikers, if you don't like them. I can think of dozens that'd go perfect with your name – Rosie pie, Rosie posie, Rosetta, RoRo - "

"Yeah, alright, I get the picture," I hissed in his ear. My best friend, Clara Loza was advancing towards me at a pace that could have won the two hundred meter dash for the Winter Olympics. I grabbed Scorp's hand and squeezed it so tight I'm surprised his fingers didn't pop out of their joints – if that was even possible.

"Rose," she said angrily, glaring.

"Oh, er – hullo Clara," I said weakly, faltering under her gaze. There are only four people I know who can pull a glare like that and leave people with the stoniest hearts weeping with fear; Grandmum Molly, Aunt Ginny, Lily, and, lucky me, Clara. "Cheers."

"You didn't tell me," she began, her voice trembling with the raging river of fury that was surging behind it. "That you were dating Malfoy. In fact, you never mentioned anything at all about it. I had to hear it from Shirene Finnegan – picture how that conversation went! 'Oh, hey Clara, guess what? Yeah, that Weasley girl, the one with the curly red hair and giant boobs, she's dating Malfoy!' I heard it from Kyle who said Athena told him that she heard Dillon and Matt talking to Lacy who said Beth swore that Max was there when Jun told Levy that Malfoy had asked your best friend out!'"

"Jun told Levy for me? What an upstanding bloke." Levy was my other best friend.

"Rose! I'm serious! I cannot _believe_ you had the gall to keep me out of the loop. I'm your best friend! We've only known each other since the first year! You've only saved my life like trillions of times! I only ever tell you every waking thought I have! I'm mad at you! Don't talk to me ever again!" She crossed her arms and looked away angrily, glaring in no particular direction. I know her well enough to tell that she was just pouting.

"Aw, come on Clara," I said, pronouncing her name all Hispanic-like, like a boss. "I was going to tell you the moment I saw you, but I went straight to bed afterwards – I was all worn out from studying."

"You get asked out by _Scorpius Malfoy_, and you go to bed because you were tired from studying," she repeated, as if I had just said I went to the Quidditch World Cup to flirt with Muggle boys. "Are you kidding me right now? God, Rosie, for being top of the class, you can be reeeaally slow sometimes." She giggled and I laughed, knowing that the beast was appeased.

"Hey, the bell rang," Scorp told me, trying to slide his hand out of my iron-like grip. _No such luck, dung-brains_, I thought, and yanked his arm back to my side so quickly and forcefully I'm surprised I didn't pull it out of its socket. He whimpered in pain and gave me a puppy face.

"Wait for me, lov-_er_," I sang, intertwining my fingers with his as Jun Corner passed by. He completely ignored us. I died a little inside. "Why don't we go together? It's double Potions first period this morning, isn't it? The Gryffindors and Slytherins have it together this month! We'll have _such_ a wonderful time of it!"

"You're gonna make me sit with the Gryffindors, aren't you?" he said, sulking.

"Yup."

"Right in front of Corner?"

"Probably."

He sighed heavily. "Yeah, okay, fine. Whatever. Let's just get this over with."

I glanced at him, noticing the tone in his voice. "Hey. Hey, what's the matter, Scorpius?"

"Well, it's just that the plan works perfectly for _you_," he said, looking at me with disdain. "But I don't think it will work for Lily. I mean, yeah, we're good friends and all, and I tutor her like twice a week for an hour, we even say hi in the halls and she asks me for help a lot because I'm a Prefect. But I don't know, Rose. I don't think making her jealous is going to be as easy as you make it out to be."

"Of course it will!" I exclaimed, taking his hand in both of mine enthusiastically. We paused outside of Slughorn's dungeon as everyone else filed in. "Listen Scorp. What reason would Lily have _not _to like you?"

"Jun Corner."

I frowned. "That's not a reason! Work with me here, mate – you're pretty good looking, don't deny it. I see you checking yourself out in that little hand mirror you carry around disguised as a pocket spell encyclopedia."

"You know about that?"

"You're so bad at hiding things. Anyways; good looking, funny – oh, yeah, you're really funny when you want to be. Remember that joke you told me? About the juice leaking out of the cauldron…oh, never mind, it was like, two years ago, and it's still the only joke I can remember. So yeah, there's the alluring sense of humor. Oh! And you're really romantic too, aren't you?"

"No, I'm not," he said, avoiding my eyes. "That's probably just your overactive imagination."

"Shut up, Malfoy! I'm trying to help you here! You are so romantic – just look at all those little things you did for Adrianne Belby when you two were still going out; you enchanted those swans to sing and dance to "Hey, Soul Sister" for Valentine's day, you charmed all her books so that a rose with a little love note attached to it would fall out every time she turned a page on her birthday, and you messed with the meteors on the night of the Astronomy exam so that they danced around and spelled out her name. I mean, come on, if you don't think that's romantic then you're more disillusioned than I thought."

He grinned despite himself. "Yeah, that was pretty good, huh? Man, a couple little stunts like that and I had her drooling all over me. Too bad she went and chose her Wizard's Chess club over spending time together, that half brained b-"

"No, I got it!" I said quickly, waving my hands in front of my face. "Come on, let's go inside, we can talk about this during class."

Slughorn, our enormously rotund and ancient Potions Master, greeted Scorp and us with a smile as we entered the class, his eyes drifting down towards our intertwined hands. He loved Mum and Harry – always asked about them whenever I arrived early or hung around after class. He could never remember Dad's name, though.

"What's all this?" he cackled, taking in the sight of us and looking gleeful. "Scorpius, I must say you have impeccable taste in girls."

I beamed at Slughorn and leaned into Scorp. It was surprisingly comfortable, despite all his rock-hard muscles. "It's more like the other way around, Professor. If he wasn't so good looking, he would never have stood a chance."

I steered him over to the far side of the classroom, right next to, yup, you guessed it, Jun Corner. I caught his eye as he looked up to glance at us and gave him one of those 'wassup' grins. He hesitated and grinned back, then looked at Scorp and looked back down. Well, I don't know what that was supposed to mean, but hope it meant he felt horrible. In a good, way, of course.

Scorp and I ended up playing footsies the entire class period – it's too distracting when we're sitting next to each other to concentrate anyways. Like, he'll laugh under his breath at some random phrase the Professor says, and I'll get it and start giggling like mad, or he'll start tapping out rhythms with his quill on his books and I'll add my own and by the end of the period we'll have a full blown opus composed. This time he wouldn't stop moving his feet around under the desk, so I finally kicked him in the shin, and in return he slammed his foot as hard as he could on top of mine. That's how our war started.

And after that, he _still _wanted to copy my notes.

"It's your own fault for not paying attention, mate," I said cheerfully, handing him my books as we left the dungeons. "There's no sense in copying off me anyways – you won't learn anything."

"You value education too highly."

"Only because I'm a bloody genius." I really am, though. I have an IQ of 166 – Mum was so proud.

Scorp and I parted ways then – he had to go to Herbology, and I was due in Ancient Runes. And what do you know? I have that class with Jun too. I'm actually the only seventh year Gryffindor in there – along with two Slytherins, one Hufflepuff, and fifteen Ravenclaws. No one else had the brains to take it. So, I sat with Jun. Well, Jun and two of his other attractive male Quidditch friends, but that's not the point. The point is that we actually started passing notes halfway through! EEH!

Ahem. Right. Here's what happened.

So I was just sitting there, writing an introductory paragraph to an essay about the Elder Futhark, and then out of the corner of my eye I see this hand creeping onto my desk, sliding a paper in front of it. I glanced at Jun, who was looking away innocently, and then looked at the paper, which had a model for a hangman game set up. Grinning, and heart fluttering, I played hangman with him for about five minutes, in which my man had all but a right leg and an eye left until death. And do you know what the word was? R-O-S-E. Yup. Rose. I almost fainted. But, I kept cool and wrote a note back to him on the parchment.

Me: _Yes?_

Jun:** What?**

_You wrote my name. _

**Yes. Yes I did. **

_Was there something you wanted to say?_

**Not particularly no, why?**

_Oh. Well sorry, then. _

**No, I'm sorry.**

_What for?_

**I've been feeling guilty about overhearing yours and Malfoy's conversation last night.**

_What? You heard what we were talking about?!_

**Oh, every word. That**'**s why I feel so bad. **

_There's no need to feel "so__bad", Jun. _

**I honestly would have never expected such a load from Malfoy. All that "true love" rubbish – I thought I'd tell you he's playing you before you got hurt. **

_Wait…what? He's playing me?_

**I never told you this, or anyone really, but Malfoy's the one who broke Mai's heart. **(Mai is his little sister)

_Scorpius went out with Mai?! Why did I never hear of this?_

**They never went out – she was Adrianne Belby's best friend at the time, and he used my sister to get close to Adrianne. He broke Mai's heart and took her best friend away from her. I just wanted to warn you about his true nature. **

_So, Scorp made your sister fall in love with him, went for another girl, and split? That doesn't sound like him at all…_

**Malfoy pretends to be a nice guy, but he's rotten underneath it all. Believe me, as we're both Prefects, I could tell you a lot more about what he hides from the rest of the world. **

I was too shocked to reply back. Scorpius had done that to a girl? He'd really exploited some girl to get another? It didn't seem like it at all – yet he _was_ in Slytherin. If that was true, then what about Lily? Did he really love her like he said he did? Or did he only want to use her to get closer to someone else? And if so, then who? Ugh, it was all so confusing! I didn't want to believe it of him, but I didn't want to let my guard down either. Too upset to eat lunch in the Great hall with Clara and Levy, I went to the library instead, and buried myself behind a wall of books for an hour and a half.

Scorpius Malfoy, libertine. It was too weird to wrap my head around.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

**A/N: Thanks for reviewing guys! 3 U! So I reread the previous two chapters, and I found some discrepancies. First, the Double Potions period for the month is with all four houses, not just Gryffindor and Slytherin – sorry for the confusion. Also, Rose is not a Prefect, but she is on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. And yeah, the Corner siblings are named Mai (May) and Jun (JOON), and I actually didn't do that on purpose, but it's cool how that worked out, huh? **

**Sorry for rambling, here's Chapter Three:**

So I was just, like, sitting there in the common room studying, and I hear this loud bang that almost made me jump out of my skin, and I see that's it's Lily and Al. And then I look closer and I see that Lily has this huge, stupid grin on her face and Al is – oh, how should I put it gently? – P.O'd.

"What's wrong?" I cried, running over to meet them. I probably shouldn't have, though, because both of them whirled around and glared at me.

"Tell me something, _Rose_," she said, reaching up and removing her long red hair from its ponytail. "When and why did you decide to go after _Scorpius Malfoy_, of all people?"

I grimaced. Somehow this had gone better in my head.

"And why didn't you tell me?" Al said angrily, brushing his jet-black hair out of his eyes. "I'll get him back for laying his filthy meat hooks on you, Rosie! I'll pummel him to bits and squeeze his brain out of the pores on his head for doing this!"

"I – ah, forgot to tell you yesterday, didn't I?" I said, taking a slight step back from Al; I could literally feel the waves of fury rolling off him.

"I mean – you're my cousin! We practically grew up together!" (We actually _did _grow up together, for the record – Grandmum Molly watched us every day all while our parents were at work). "How could you forget to tell _me,_ of all people, Rose?!" Lily cried dramatically, clasping my hand in hers.

"Okay, listen," I said. Which of course, they didn't.

"Who asked out who?"

"Where is he right now?!"

"Have you guys kissed yet?"

"Rose, if he's laid one finger on you - !"

"Oi!" I shouted, making them hush. "Look here – he asked me out yesterday, in the library, a couple hours after dinner," I said, rapidly weaving up a lie in my head. I'd tell Scorp how he asked me out later; no way was I missing this opportunity. Okay, let's see now…what was that recurring fantasy I always have whenever I fall asleep in History of Magic? "I had no idea he was behind me until he grabbed my hand and spun me out of my chair to face him, and I saw that he had a great, blooming rose in his hand, at least twelve feet long. I said to him, 'Malfoy! What in the name of Merlin's saggy left buttock are you doing?' and you know what the rose did? It started _quoting Shakespeare!_ It said, 'If I profane with my unworthiest hand this holy shrine, the gentle sin is this. My lips, two blushing pilgrims ready stand to smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss.' Then the rose goes and flashes bright white, and the next thing I know it's an entire bouquet and rose petals are raining down from nowhere all over the library. And then he goes and plants one right here, on the back of my hand!" I said, holding up my right hand. The looks on their faces were priceless. "And do you know what he did then? He knelt down in front of me and everyone else in the library and shouted some rubbish about me being his true love and would I please help him attain it?" Well, that part was sort of true – I can't have any discrepancies in my story if Jun was there too. Well, except for the magic rose petals. "So I said okay, and I guess he got sort of nervous or something because he scampered off as soon as I said it. But yeah, that's pretty much what happened. Romantic, wasn't it?"

"Unbelievably!" Lily cried, her dark eyes shining. I frowned on the inside. This was not good – she didn't look in the least bit upset. Poor Scorpius.

"No," Al said, looking furious. "He has no right to be flirting with you, Rose. I need to tell him to stay away from you – maybe he'll listen to one of my hexes…"

"Oh, stop it, Allie," I said, grabbing his head and digging my knuckles into his scalp. He always said he hated it when I did that, but I knew he secretly liked it. "What's he done to you, huh? The only reason you hate him is because your dad and mine are always going on and on about what a rotter his father was. Give him a chance, will you?"

"You don't know him like I do, Rose," Al said, wrestling away from my headlock and gritting his teeth. I really did frown this time – it seemed he was serious about how angry he was. "Why Malfoy, of all people? Why'd you have to go and pick the lowest, vilest scum of the earth to date?"

There it is again. That intense dislike…no, more like loathing, etched into my cousin's eyes. First Jun, with his cryptic "Ooh, mum's the word, but I wouldn't touch that if I were you," and now Al, talking about "Yeah, this bloke's bad news, but I'm not saying more than that." Quite frankly, I was sick of it.

"Okay, what is all this hush-hush business about Scorp anyways?" I said, irritated. What? You'd be mad too if someone was talking trash about one of your close friends. "All I heard earlier was that he apparently used Mai Corner to get close to Adrianne Belby - "

"You mean you didn't know about that?" Lily said in a hushed voice, which just meant that she was REALLY excited about something. "It was a huge scandal at the time. Mai liked him first, apparently, and told him, and though he never asked her out or anything they did flirt. Like, _a lot_. And then it got out that he and Adrianne were secretly going out behind her back the entire time, and she was furious. So then, Mai challenges Adrianne to a duel, and Malfoy steps in to defend her, and the next thing you know Mai is hospitalized for weeks, recovering from a particularly nasty Pneumo-No hex."

…Wait_ - What_? Scorpius _did_ that? "You've got to be kidding me," I muttered, turning and heading back to my chair by the fireplace. He cast a Pneumo-No hex on someone – as defense? What was he thinking? That's one of the most dangerous, harmful spells that are actually legal to use; it leaves its victim's lungs incapacitated so that they can't breathe the air around them, and they flop around like a fish with all the air draining from their lungs until someone says the counter curse. Trouble is, for the Pneumo-No hex, there isn't one.

"No, I'm not kidding!" Lily said, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "He actually did that! And he wasn't even expelled."

"Now you see why I'm so against it?" Al growled. I could see the muscles in his forearm clenching as he balled up his fist. It was quite intimidating. "He's going to hurt you, be it emotionally or physically. I won't allow you to even go near a creep like that, you hear me?"

"Merlin's beard!" I cried, slamming my book shut. "I've got to go talk to him!"

"Yeah, you – wait, what?" Al said, looking confused.

"You're going to go find him?" Lily asked, staring at me. "After what we just told you?"

"Well, yes," I said, reaching for my cloak. "I mean, he is my boyfriend after all" (virtually) "and I deserve to know what kind of person I'm entering a relationship with, don't I? You two wait here, I'll be back in a bit. Probably not too long past curfew."

"Rosie, wait!" Lily called anxiously. "Hugo's going to be so mad at us for letting you go!"

"Hugo? Mad at you? Al and I are older, and Lily, you know he hangs on every word you say. He's not going to hurt you, I promise."

And with that, I pushed open the portrait of the Fat Lady, hopped out, and was off.

James and I, being the oldest of the Potter-Weasley clan, used to have the greatest times wandering around the castle at night under his cloak. And then, (I didn't see this coming), McGonagall goes and appoints him Head Boy like it's a good idea, and his seventh year (my sixth) he actually got his shitaki mushrooms straight and started lecturing me about "responsibility" and "honor". Like yeah, okay. Whatever. He's training to be an Auror now, and do you know what they have him doing as a first year student at the Ministry Auror Academy? Police work. Yeah. He gets to work with the Muggle bobbies and practice tracking down and catching criminals and such. Honestly, I don't know what Dad was thinking when he instituted that policy. Anyways, he showed me all around the castle before he leveled up and graduated, including how to get into the Slytherin dormitories. So, feeling like a ninja with my black cloak billowing behind me, I started off at top speed towards the dungeons.

Scorp was one of the Slytherin Prefects, probably because teachers love him and he gets amazing grades, even though he never studies and rarely does the homework. I suspect it's because he's a genius but I'm not sure – you can't be sure, not with the way he acts half the time. Anyways, he patrols the corridors like, every Tuesday and Friday, I think, unless there's an emergency, and it was Monday today so he probably wasn't out. Lucky for me, however, Jun Corner was. I saw him see me, and he smiled (my heart probably stopped right around here) and began making his way towards me. I had a mini panic-attack and began furiously muttering charms under my breath to make my hair de-frizz as much as possible. He came up to me, looking – dare I say it? – happy to see me.

"Hullo, Rose," Jun said, smiling. "I like your hair."

WWOOOAAAAAGGGGHHHHHRRRRR he liked my hair.

"Oh, thanks," I said breathily, twirling a fiery strand around my finger. "I tried to make it look like Nicole Kidman's."

He stared at me blankly. I cringed inwardly, remembering that he probably wouldn't know who the Muggle actress was.

"Oh," he said, looking down. "Well anyways, I was just wondering…if you'd thought about what I told you earlier."

"About Scorpius? Yeah, I heard from Lily that he actually Pneumo-No hexed your sister and left her hospitalized for quite some time. I'm sorry I never asked about it – I actually had no idea it had happened."

"Aw, it's not your fault. Only the faculty and a couple of the witnesses actually know the truth about what happened. Mai and I just…didn't want it getting out. And then, would you believe it, his father came in and paid the school a whole lot of money to keep him in, which is why he wasn't expelled on the spot. I just – I hate the fact that he thinks he can get away with everything scot-free, and after my sister, I don't want to see anyone else I care about get hurt."

I swear I just died and went to heaven. "Er – what?" was the incredibly eloquent response to his confession of deep affection for me. Jun went scarlet.

"Oh, I only meant – that is – ah," he said, rubbing the back of his head nervously. "Well, you're one of my closest friends, Rose, and it'd kill me to see you hurt in the same way. You never can know what's going on in a bloke's mind, after all, and-"

Yeah, I had already stopped listening. I was too hung up on the whole "It'd kill me" thing.

"…dressed like that?" he said, snapping me back to reality. I looked at him.

"I said, where are you going with this thing on?" Jun repeated, gesturing to my cloak. "Surely you weren't thinking about sneaking off or anything, were you? Because I'd be morally obligated to report you."

"Oh, the dungeons," I said without thinking. I immediately blanched.

His eyebrows flew up in surprise. "The - the _dungeons_? Don't tell me…are you going to meet Malfoy?" he said, sounding incredulous.

"Yes," I answered, wishing I could go back in time and erase what I said. "I was actually going to go meet Scorp and see if I couldn't figure out the truth behind the whole ordeal. Or at least hear things from his side."

Well, he didn't seem to like that. "Oh. I just figured – I don't know, I just thought you'd call it off once you figured out how horrible he was."

Did I detect a hint of jealously? I swear I was on the verge of having a seizure of happiness. Let's see how far I could take this. "Well, I can't help it, Jun. I'm so _madly_ in love with him, and he at least deserves a chance to explain things to me from his point of view, don't you think? I mean, isn't that what love's all about?"

He looked sullen. I know it sounds awful, but that was a really good sign. I was dancing for joy inside.

"Alright, go," he said, turning away. "Don't let anyone catch you – it's past curfew."

I smiled at him just before he turned his head away, and he kind of froze, and sort of just stared at me. I don't know what that's supposed to mean, but I took it as a good sign and left before my heart exploded. I ran all the way out past the trophy room without anything happening, and was feeling pretty good about my high levels of stealth and agility as I turned the corner where the kitchens were.

Too bad I was stupid enough to forget to watch where I was going, because I actually ended up running head-on into Scorpius Malfoy himself.

"Oi!" he said angrily, pushing me off of him (I kind of knocked him over, too). "What the bloody hell do you think you're – oh, Rose, it's you."

"Yeah, it's me!" I said, standing up and offering him a hand. "And you wouldn't believe what I just heard about you from Lily!"

"Lily?" he said, his grey eyes brightening. A genuine, million-Galleon smile lit up his face, and I swear the just words died on my tongue. "Lily was talking about me? What did she say?"

I looked at his hand in mine, which I hadn't released yet, and back at his face. Blimey, he looked like a kid who was about to hear what he'd gotten for Christmas. All the accusations about Mai Corner and Adrianne Belby sort of vanished from my head, and I knew - I don't know how, I just did – that Scorp wasn't that kind of person. I just – I couldn't see this boy as someone who'd intentionally harm someone, even if it was only for defense. He was too…good natured. Too benign. I looked at his pale face, radiating happiness at the sound of Lily's name, and I decided to take a chance on him.

What? I'm a really good judge of character – that's why I'm never involved in drama or anything. Besides, what did I know? I didn't have all the facts straight. And somehow, I felt like asking him about Mai Corner would hurt his feelings, considering he'd never even mentioned it to me before. I wonder if he knew what Lily thought about it all. Probably not. Oh, well - I'd get to the bottom of it sooner or later, but right now, I couldn't bear to see him hurt over the fact that Lily believed him to be some kind of malicious, violent, bad-boy player.

Huh. I must have cared about him more than I realized.

"Oh, nothing," I said after a pause, coming up with another rapid lie. "Just a little something about how she couldn't stand the thought of seeing you and me together."

What? It was almost the truth. Sort of.

Poor bloke. He looked blown away. "Like…in a good way?" he asked, motioning for me to continue.

I ignored this. It wasn't crucial to my master plan. "Listen," I said, stepping closer and lowering my voice in case anyone was within hearing distance. "All I'm going to tell you is that…your chances are pretty good, my friend. And, I've come up with an amazing plan to get her to fall for you, head over heels."

"What?" he asked, sounding suspicious. "You've got that wicked gleam in your eye. It's making me nervous."

I smacked his arm. "Believe me! It's going to work! Next week, at the upcoming Hogsmeade outing, you're going to save my dear little cousin's life."

Perhaps it'd be a chance for him to redeem himself, too, I thought to myself as he walked me back to Gryffindor Tower. Please, Scorp, I silently begged, watching his eyes, which seemed far away in thought. Please prove them all wrong. You know I can't stand it if I'm not right.

**A/N: And so? How you likin it? Eh? Sorry it was so short. :P**

**Don't forget to check out my story Stroke of Midnight on FictionPres,net. Okay? Please? 3**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

**A/N: I hope you guys are happy. I'm skipping my workout to write this. Y'all better be grateful :P**

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Scorp muttered to me under his breath as we approached the library.

Psh. As _if_ any plan I came up with could fail. "Have some confidence," I told him, pushing open the library doors and peeking inside. I could see Lily was sitting there, not even changed out of her Quidditch robes yet. Psh. At least _I _had showered and changed before I appeared in front of people. Come to think of it, Lily wasn't one to stay sweaty for a long time afterwards either – the fact that she didn't even bother to get cleaned up for a tutoring session with Scorp must mean that she really didn't care about him. Like _at all_. Poor bloke.

"Okay, remember the plan," I said, closing the door and turning to face him. "Make sure you sit at one of the middle tables, the ones with the candles for lighting. And don't forget to make eye contact as much as you can – it makes girls feel important. And smile a lot, and make a lot of joke. In fact, try not to talk about Potions at all, all right Scorp? And for God's sake, _please_ stay away from the subject of Elker's Ninety Principles of Alchemic Logarithms or whatever, unless you want her running for dear life."

He smirked handsomely. "I'll try and remember that."

I tilted my head to the side, studying him.

"…What?"

"Come here," I demanded, and he took a step closer. "Let's fix this up now," I said, running my hands through his sleeked back blonde hairy and tousling it slightly. It was surprisingly soft. "There you are, mate. Now you look like a windswept male model."

He just laughed. "Wish me luck, Weasley."

"You'll need my Irish luck, Malfoy."

He turned to the door, paused, and glanced back at me. "Aren't you coming in?"

I stared at him. "What do you want me in there for?"

Scorp shrugged. "Well, you know. Just in case anything goes wrong and I need you…"

I sighed. I don't know, just something about sitting and watching my cousin and guy best friend flirting all night didn't really tickle my fancy. He probably saw the expression on my face, because he immediately backed off.

"It's alright," he said, turning away. "You don't have to."

I stared at the door, feeling like even though I really didn't want to go in, I probably should have. Oh, well. What good would my being there have done anyways? Lily's a good enough person not to flirt with someone else's boyfriend in front of them, and even if I had hid, someone else would probably have seen me, and then rumors would spread, and I really didn't feel like Confounding the entire school right now. I let out a heavy sigh.

"Ah-HA!"

"WAAAH!" I screamed, jumping nearly fifteen feet in the air and whirling around. I found my wand tip pointing straight at my other best friend, Levy's, face.

"I knew it!" she said in a hushed voice, and grabbed my wrist and started dragging me towards the girl's bathrooms. "I _knew_ you weren't really going out with him!"

"What?" I cried, distraught. "You mean you heard everything I said?"

"Every word!" she said triumphantly, brushing back her blonde hair and fixing her big brown eyes on me. "Unlike Clara, Rosie, I'm smart enough to see past this little web of lies you've spun."

This huge sense of dread suddenly plopped down into my chest like a sack of Dungbombs.

"Did you just call me stupid?" came Clara's voice from inside the bathroom. She poked her head, out, her black hair falling like a curtain past her shoulders. She grinned so evilly when she caught sight of me. "Well, hello there Miss _Liar_."

"We've found you out!" Levy said gleefully, pushing me inside and locking the door behind her with her wand. "Just because you're the best in the year doesn't mean you can pull one past us, _Rose_."

I was too stunned to say anything. Which, believe me, was definitely a first.

"You see," Levy continued, tapping her palm with her wand and causing a large blue flame to burst up like a flower. The entire bathroom immediately brightened. "When you said you were dating Scorpius Malfoy, I knew something had to be wrong, because you friendzoned him the second you saw him and his friends armpit farting in Charms first year."

I cracked a grin. I remembered that; and for the record, they wouldn't stop until I found a spell that made it smell like real fart every time they did it. Watching their faces was hilarious.

"So?" I said, tossing my curls over my shoulder. "Maybe I secretly found him attractive all those years."

"Rose, you're the one who was insanely boy-crazy for a couple of years," Clara pointed out. "You were always making those idiotic remarks about wanting to see their abs or catch them in swimming trunks. Bloody pervert. And your 'attraction' for Scorpius wasn't really a secret you know. You've told us way too times you think he's hot."

Well. I'd completely forgotten about that, but there was no point in denying it – he _was_ one of the prettiest boys I've ever seen.

"And," Levy continued, poking her forefinger into my chest. "We _know_ you only have eyes for Jun Corner."

I felt my face heat up. "I do _not_!" Oh, yeah, great comeback, Rosie. They'll definitely believe you now.

"Oh, shut it!" they said in unison. Clara pulled something out of her bag and I swear my heart dropped down to my appendix when I saw that it was my notebook. My Potions notebook. Like, _the_ notebook Scorp and I were plotting in the other day. I tried to think up a lie, but my mouth decided to make a weird noise instead - like a mouse being squashed.

"Let's see now, shall we?" Clara said cheerfully, opening it and flipping through. "What do our star-crossed lovers talk about in Potions class…what with all that _chemistry_ in the atmosphere…"

"Erm," I said, kind of at a loss for words. "Where did you get that?"

Levy grinned evilly. "For the smartest witch in the entire school, you were pretty thick for letting me borrow your notes without wiping yours and Malfoy's memos blank."

Oh, bollocks. So they've seen it.

"_Rose_," Clara read aloud. I bit my lip and began to twirl my fingers in my hair nervously. "_What does Lily like in a guy?_"

"**Much more than you can offer her, mate**," Levy read, looking at me and smirking.

"_Well, I mean, does she like tall blokes, blokes who can show her a good time, the kind of blokes who like to take walks on the beach – give me something to work with, Weasley._"

"**I don't know! Someone smart, fun, athletic, responsible, outgoing, and kind. That's kind of like the basic structure of every girl's dream guy, isn't it?"**

"_Look, I know you like Corner, but could you please refrain from describing him to me as 'Every Girl's Dream Guy?' Just knowing that Lily thinks about him and not me makes me kind of sick."_

"**Don't be so pathetic, mate. It's unappealing. Besides, you just have to make her fall in love with you, not with someone else. Be yourself around her! Blimey! How many times am I supposed to tell you before it gets through your thick man-skull?"**

"_You are going to help me, right? Because so far all we've done is flirt in front of Corner, and the only thing we've gotten in response is an occasional glare in my direction. Come on – you told me you were going to help me make Lily jealous too!"_

"**I know, I know! I'm working on it! In fact, if you want, we can do it the day after tomorrow after Quidditch practice. It'll give us some momentum on Operation Hogsmeade."**

I cringed as they bored their eye into mine. What? It feels awful when you're caught in a lie. Although, they _did_ seem to be more excited by it than upset.

"Alright, okay, you got me!" I cried, throwing my hands up in the air. "Here's the truth – So Scorpius came up to me a few days ago and told me he was in love with Lily, and would I please help him and make her fall in love with him? So I said alright, and for some reason Jun Corner overheard and thought Scorp was asking me out, so I told him that we were dating to see if I could make him jealous, and I convinced Scorp to go along with it in exchange for my help. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, okay? I just thought it'd be best if it didn't get out."

"Oh, Rosie," Levy sang, ruffling my hair. I'm significantly shorter than normal human beings, just so you know, so the top of my head was assaulted a lot. "Sweet, naïve little Rosie-Posie. Don't you have any faith in us?"

"In Clara, yeah," I said, jerking my thumb back at her. "But you? None."

"What? Why?!"

"Why do you think?" Clara answered for me, placing her hands on her hips. "You tell everyone _everything_."

"I do not!"

"Yes, you do," Clara and I chimed, grinning. "Remember Lily's crush on Fleetwood?"

"And Clara's bedwetting incident?"

"Not to mention that fight we had."

"And the fox that one time."

"Okay, okay, I get it!" Levy shouted, red in the face. "The _point_ here," she continued, looking at me as if she had just unlocked a treasure chest. "Is that Rose's in love with Scorpius Malfoy!"

"WHAT?!" I yelled, feeling hot all of a sudden. Like, really hot – the kind of hot that makes your face the same color as your hair if you're a ginger. That's why I generally try to avoid getting flustered. "I do not love him! How did you come up with that? It's mental, I'm telling you. Rubbish."

"No, I see where she's coming from, Rose," Clara said thoughtfully. I gaped at them. "This entire time you've had a crush on Jun Corner, and when you found out your cousin Lily liked him too you thought it'd be easier to step back and bow out. But then, Malfoy came and wanted to be with Lily, and you somehow, in your inverted, dysfunctional mind you thought it'd be a good idea to pretend to date so Jun and Lily would be jealous. BUT – and here's my favorite part – you completely fell for Malfoy along the way, and kept putting off getting him and Lily together, instead focusing on making Jun like you, because somewhere in the deep, dark recesses of your brain you wanted to continue having feelings for a guy your used to having feelings for, realizing you could never be with the boy you truly loved and burying your passions deep inside your heart."

"Yes, and that's why you went ahead and continued to help him even though people kept telling you he was rotten," Levy said eagerly. "And why your face just now when you left him in the library to go and flirt with Lily looked so pathetic- pitiable! Sorry," she corrected herself as I glared.

"Stark raving mad, you are. Both of you," I said, shaking my head. "Look, guys – I'm sorry I lied to you. I feel really bad about sneaking around behind your backs for the past few days, and I'm actually sort of relieved now that you know. But please," I said, dead seriousness creeping back into my voice. "Please don't tell anybody. I – I don't want Jun to know that I've been lying to him, or Lily for that matter. And couldn't you just picture the look on Hugo's face if he found out?"

"And then picture the look on his face when he finds out you're actually in love with Malfoy," Clara giggled.

"Oh, come _off_ it!" I said, annoyed. "I DO NOT LOVE HIM!"

They just looked at me and sniggered. I rolled my eyes and left.

…

I hate to admit it, but honestly really does seem to be the best policy. I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my chest now that my two best friends knew, and I literally was like, breathing easier because of it. That didn't stop them from patronizing me every time they saw Scorp and I together, though."

"Hey, Rose," Clara said at breakfast the next day, twirling a strand of thick black hair around her wand. "Why don't you ever sit with your boyfriend at the Slytherin table?"

I glanced over my shoulder at Scorpius, who had his back to me and was chatting animatedly with Nathaniel Flint and Vinny Greengrass. I turned around to catch them watching me eagerly.

"Well, it's his own fault," I said jokingly. "He never comes to sit by _me_."

"Rose," said a voice in my ear, and I turned to see Al and Hugo standing there, looking grim. Hugo spoke first. "I know he's your boyfriend and all, but if you bring him over you know we'll be putting him through a whole lot of c-"

"Oh, stop it Hugo," Lily said cheerfully, coming to stand next to Al. "I was talking to him in the library yesterday, and it was actually pleasant. He's practically family now, there's no use in fighting it."

I choked on my bacon and was about to say something incredibly clever and degrading about Scorp when I saw Jun come in and sit at the Ravenclaw table, right behind Scorp. The wheels in my head starting turning. Which, for anyone who knows me well, is a very ominous thing.

"Yeah, you're right, Lils," I said, standing up and swinging my feet over the bench. "I haven't officially introduced him to any of you yet, have I? Wait right here, I'll go and get him."

They all looked at me with shocked faces. Clara and Levy exchanged Oh-God-What-Is-She-Up-To-Now glances. I tried to make myself look as tall as possible as I passed the Ravenclaw table – you know, just to make sure _every_one saw me.

Scorp's friends fell quiet as I approached from behind. They muttered something to him, stealing furtive glances at me, and he turned around and met my eyes. I cracked a grin.

"So," I said, wrapping my arms around his neck and smashing my cheek against his. He looked uncomfortable. Hee-hee. Good. "My dear old friends and _family_," I said, subtly elbowing him in the ribs as I said 'family'. "Were just asking me why I never bring you over to the _Gryffindor_ table, and why don't I go and get you so as to _introduce_ you properly? And I said fine, it'd be a _great opportunity_, don't you think, _honey_?"

He raised an eyebrow at me and peered around my back, and probably saw Jun Corner sitting there, because he turned to me and rolled his eyes, but obligingly stood up and stepped out of the bench.

"I'll be back soon, okay?" he told his friends, and grabbed my hand and pulled me along.

"_Way_ to be subtle back there," he told me, grinning. "My friends probably think you've got some sort of enunciation problem, the way you were stressing words like _crazy_."

"Yeah," I replied with a straight face. "I probably sounded _mad_."

"Oh, well," he said, with equal seriousness. "What _ever_ can we do about it?"

We cracked up on the spot, holding onto each other and giggling loudly. I suspect we attracted quite a lot of stares.

"Okay, so I'm going to introduce you to my Gryffindors," I said, looking over at them fondly. They were watching us like we were a movie on the telly. "And be sure to make a big a spectacle as you can about it, because Jun's watching."

"Really?" Scorp asked, looking amused. "Are you sure you want everyone to know what's going on? Because Hagrid and Longbottom are both up there," he gestured to the staff table. "And last I heard, both are pretty close with your parents. So unless you want your father to send you your first ever Howler, perhaps it'd be best not to let the adults know about this just yet?"

"You realize I thought about that the first day we came up with this scheme, right?" I said cheerfully. "I mean, I _am _a genius. You don't think I'd actually overlook the fact that my parents have spies here, do you?"

"So now Hagrid and Longbottom are _spies_?"

I smacked him. "You know what I mean! Anyways, I already told Mum and Dad that we were going out, and believe me, the letter Dad wrote back was not pleasant. Mum seemed to think it was cute, though."

He looked impressed. "Wow. Brave."

"Come on," I said, dragging him over to the Gryffindor table. "We've kept them waiting long enough."

"Hey, guys," I called, Scorp in tow. "Budge up a bit, will you?"

"Well, look what the cat dragged in," Levy said, looking smug. "Hello, gorgeous. I don't believe we've met."

"That's Levy Wood," I said, pointing at my blonde friend. "She has a gift for seeing the beauty in everyone."

"I'm Clara Loza," Clara said, standing and reaching out to shake his hand. "Future maid of honor."

I glared at her, but Scorpius seemed amused. "Oh, really? So you won't mind walking down the aisle with Nathaniel Flint, then?"

She glanced over at Flint, who was watching us warily. "Well, so long as he grows twelve inches."

"Anyways," I said loudly, trying to draw the conversation from a Weasley-Malfoy wedding. "Scorp, those two are my best friends in the entire world, and they know _everything_," I gave him a meaningful glance. "And I mean _everything_ about me."

He seemed to take the hint. "Ah," Scorp managed, smiling weakly at them. "Well then. You guys must be pretty close."

"Hey, Scorpius," Lily said, coming forward and giving him a hug. It was funny watching his expression go from shocked, to mortified, to exuberant, and then smug. "I suspect you remember me, don't you?"

"Vaguely," he replied, looking at her like she was an immaculate angel or something. "Weren't you that girl who spilled her entire bottle of rainbow-ink on my lap the other night?"

"Sorry again," she said, flushing. "It must have been embarrassing walking back to your dormitory looking like you had peed out rainbows or something."

Woah, woah, woah. Scorp told me none of this! Did all of this happen while Clara and Levy were confronting me in the bathroom? I'd be talking to him later, that was for sure.

"This is my cousin, Al," I said, ruffling the kid's hair. "Our very own Gryffindor Seeker."

Scorp and Al seemed to be sizing each other up. They'd never actually spoken to each other, but I know that their fathers must have talked the other up at home. And not in a good way.

"Hey," Scorp said finally, extending his hand. "Your cousin seems to love you very much."

Hook.

"Oh, yeah?" Al asked, raising an eyebrow. "What's she been saying about me?"

"Oh, just some rubbish every so often about how trustworthy you are. She told me I'd have you to answer to if I did anything wrong."

Line.

"That's Rose for you," Al said tersely. "And I'm always here to have her back."

"Oh, good," Scorp said, smiling. "Because those were my intentions exactly."

Aaaaaand sinker. Wow, if I didn't know any better I'd say Scorp really was a loving, caring boyfriend.

"Oh, you two," I said, reaching up and ruffling both their hairs. "See how easy life can be without antagonism?"

"_Hem, hem_," Hugo said, clearing his throat. "You've forgotten me, my dearest _sister_."

"No, I haven't," I said, looking at him cheerfully. "I was just ignoring you."

"Hugo Weasley, right?" Scorp said, shaking my brother's hand. "Pleasure."

Hugo scoffed, but I could tell he had already warmed up to Scorp. "Bloody well should be. I'll be keeping an eye on you, just so you know. Put one toe out of line and you'll wish you'd never been born."

"Got it." Scorp said, grinning. "Did you hear that, Rosie? Your brother's after my blood."

I whacked Hugo upside the head. "He's not going to hurt you, _right?" _I said, boring my eyes into my little brother's. "_Right_?" I said, and I started poking his cheek with my wand.

"Sod off," he said, annoyed. "I was just putting him in his place is all."

"Be nice to Scorpy," I said, standing on tiptoe and giving him a kiss. "He's done nothing to you."

"OH!" Lily screamed, making the Great Hall fall silent as everyone turned to stare at her. "You guys should KISS for us!"

Oh, ha-ha, Lily, you're so cute. "Erm…Lily, don't you think us snogging in front of you will ruin your appetite?"

Scorp glanced nervously at me. I shot him an I'll-handle-this look.

"Oh, come off it," Lily scoffed, bouncing towards us. "What do you think we are, stupid? It's not like you two haven't kissed before, is it? Go on, Scorpius, give her a kiss. Not a full on snog, just a nice little kiss! It's not going to kill you, is it?"

Yes. "Lily, stop it," I hissed, looking around and flushing as I noticed that people were nodding and smiling in agreement. "You're being a nuisance."

"Shut up, Rose! KISS!"

"Yeah, kiss! Kiss!" Clara and Levy called, and I whirled around and glared at them. Scorp just stood there, rubbing the back of his neck and not helping. They smiled at me and started clinking their knives against their cups. Nearly everyone else at the Gryffindor table did the same, and then the Hufflepuffs next to us started clinking their silverware against their glasses too, closely followed by the Ravenclaws. Nothing from the Slytherins, though I did see the staff table exchange worried glances.

"KISS! KISS!" Came the chant, echoing insanely throughout the Great Hall. The sound of clinking glasses and catcalls sent my face into a permanent blush, probably, and I turned to Scorp, not meeting his eyes.

"Just to shut them up?" he mouthed, and I nodded.

"Quickly," I mouthed back, and he bent down, and I tilted my head to the side, and our lips met.

Well, somewhere in my mind I was conscious of the fact that the Great Hall had erupted into cheers and screams, and my eardrums were probably close to bursting from the sound, and that people were shooting sparks into the air with their wands, and I even saw a couple of camera flashes, but then – I don't know, my eyes just decided to flutter shut, and my hand thought it'd be a good idea to crawl up Scorp's arm to the back of his neck, and I remember thinking that I'd never had someone's arms around my waist like that, and then just kind of blanking out and kissing him back like nothing else. I think I finally pulled back because I needed some air.

"I said _not_ to snog!" Lily shouted at us, but she was ignored. I was too busy trying to look anywhere but at Scorp.

"So, uh," he said in my ear as the cheering began to die down. "I hope it wasn't that bad."

I grinned despite myself and turned to face him. "Lord is Lily gonna be in for a treat," I told him.

"Hey," he said, nudging me. "Corner's staring at you."

"Really?" I whirled around and saw Jun watching us with his mouth hanging open. He met my eyes and immediately looked away. Not long after he stood up and left.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked Scorp as we watched him go.

"It means," he said quietly. "That you're in."

**A/N: Oh, hey so uh – confession time. I stole the kiss scene from The Proposal. And then I kinda made it my own. Sorry, it's just that I saw the movie last night and I really like that part, so I sort of incorporated it into here. Hee. **

**Review plz! 3**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

**A/N: This chapter is dedicated to Diane Potter, for sticking with me all this time :)**

I, Rose Harriet Weasley, am a blooming genius.

I mean it. Remember how I told Scorp I had a plan to make Lily fall head over heels in love with him? Well, I lied. I didn't actually have a plan. I just pretended I did, and then refused to tell him what it was because that's my business, and told him to meet me by the entrance hall at nine on Saturday so he could take me to Hogsmeade. So like, Friday night, I was just lying in bed trying to fall asleep, when I realized that in eleven hours I needed to put some kind of plan into motion to matchmake Scorp and Lily the next day. So, I thought and thought and thought about it, and then it hit me.

And let me tell you something – I am a _blooming_ genius.

"Okay," I muttered to Scorp under my breath. He had insisted on looping his arm through mine and giving me his cloak to wear as we walked towards the village because it "looked more couple-y", so it was easy to communicate in an undertone. "Lily should be getting up right about now. It's gonna take her ten minutes to do her hair, fifteen to do her makeup, and probably five to get dressed. She and her friends will probably skip breakfast in the Great Hall and buy something at The Three Broomsticks because she's filthy rich, so be prepared to meet her in there at 10:10, not a minute later. In fact, be there before she arrives just to make it look like you weren't waiting for her the entire time."

He gave me a look. "You should be a Jumper when you graduate. I think your brain's wired just right for it."

I scoffed and elbowed him painfully. "I'm not much for dealing with Time Turners, Malfoy. It's too much thinking – I'm just a good strategist and planner."

"All the more reason to be a Chronologist," he said smugly.

"You can't honestly picture me as a secret agent for the Ministry!" I exclaimed. "That's so much training! And _work_! Plus, going back and forth in time over and over again just to make things go the way the higher ups want them to, or to cover up scandals and secrets – just think of all the thinking I'd have to do!"

"Oh, shut up," he said, yawning. "It was only a suggestion."

"Right," I said, but the idea of Chronology – Jumping, we said as slang – didn't fade from my mind. "Well, anyways, as I was saying, she should be at the Three Broomsticks at 10:10, so make sure you get there between the window of 10:05 to 10:08 so as not to arouse suspicion. As for me," I said, pulling my hood over my head. "I'll be waiting in the shadows."

"How are you planning on doing this without being seen?" Scorp asked skeptically.

I held up a small satin pouch, and swung it around on its string. "My Uncle George may or may not have 'accidentally' given me a box of Wheezes products for Christmas instead of a gift card. But yeah, I haven't had the chance to use my Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder yet, so I thought I'd _carpe diem _and exploit my resources to their full advantage."

"Oh, really?" he replied, looking deeply impressed. "Alright then, so can you tell me _now_ what I'm supposed to do once you kidnap her?"

"Oh. Yeah," I said, and we fell into silence as he waited for the details.

"…Rose?"

"Yeah?"

"Are – are you gonna tell me or what?"

"Sure, Scorp."

"Today?"

"Uh, huh."

"Now?"

"How would you define 'now'?"

"Weasley!"

"Alright!" I giggled, and he grinned despite himself. "I was just messing with you. Here's what you'll do – Go up to her and buy her a drink. Keep her busy while I distract her friends; Clara and Levy will be waiting on the side to take them shopping somewhere. Then, at precisely 10:35, ask her if she wants to help you find me, your lovely girlfriend, and she's gonna say yes because she follows me everywhere. Walk outside and pretend that something in one of the window displays catches your eye. Then, I'll come running and Stun her or something, and start hauling her away. Clara and Levy should be back by exactly 10:40, so they'll pretend to start screaming as they see poor little Lily being dragged off by some terrible hag. That's where you start running after us, and just pretend to incapacitate me somehow or other. I'll run off like a bloody fool, and you'll have your girl. Deal?"

"Hmm," Scorp said, stroking his chin. "You did seem to think of everything. But what if McGonagall finds out?"

"Aw, she won't. She's actually visiting the Auror Department today."

"Someone could tell her."

"Well if they do,_ I'll_ be the one in trouble," I said, annoyed. "Merlin, Scorpius, have some faith please!"

"Sorr-y," he said, throwing his hands in the air. "Just examining all possible options is all."

I sighed heavily. Stupid boys can get so annoying sometimes.

"What's wrong?" he asked, frowning.

"Nothing," I said shortly. "You just keep contradicting me is all."

"Because I just wanted to make sure everything goes according to plan!"

"Of course it's gonna go according to plan! I'm Rose-effing-Weasley! I can do anything, because I'm a bloody genius! Just do everything I tell you to and it'll be fine. Okay?"

Scorpius huffed, and crossed his arms. "Yeah, okay. Fine."

Somehow I felt a little bad. Like, not bad like I-just-killed-somebody bad, or even I-just-made-somebody-feel-bad bad. I felt like…like you feel when you think your best friend hates you. And as I snuck a glance at Scorpius's pointed face, and saw that he was looking anywhere but at me, I felt a horrible sinking in my stomach and I immediately wanted to cry. I didn't, though – I don't cry. Like, ever. And you can't make me.

But, anyways, I didn't really feel like apologizing – what's there to apologize for when you're the one that's right? – so I remained silent and stony faced, and when we got down to the village, he didn't even look back as he walked straight into the Three Broomsticks. I huffed and turned on my heel, walking over to a nearby tree and hiding behind it.

Fine, I thought angrily. So you want to be like that? Go ahead. Meanwhile I'm going to go ahead and put the plan into motion, and just you watch, Malfoy, because everything's going to go perfectly, and Jun and I are going to live happily ever after while you're stuck being whipped by Lily Potter for the rest of your miserable life, because that's what you wanted, isn't it? And I'm going to give it to you out of the generosity of my heart, you bloody _git_.

"Rose?"

I turned around, half-expecting Scorpius to show his ugly (well, not really) face and foil the entire plan in order to apologize, but instead, Jun Corner was standing five feet away from me, looking concerned.

"Oh, Jun!" I said, shocked. I hadn't done my hair that morning. "Wh – what are you doing here?"

"I was with my friends, we were off to have a mug in the Hog's Head," he said, gesturing towards a group of Ravenclaws, all of them carrying book bags. I turned my gaze back to Jun: his dark hair was ruffled and blowing in the breeze, his sleeves pushed up to his elbows and exposing his muscular forearms, tie hanging loosely around his thick neck, and he was coming closer and closer…

"…Rose?" he said again, smiling nervously.

"Oh, erm, sorry," I said, laughing like a maniac and blushing blood red. "I'm just – out of sorts today, I suppose." Wow, Rose. You've just surpassed him in intellectual superiority. Congratulations, now he'll love you forever.

"Yeah, I noticed," he said, taking another stride towards me, and then another. "So – what brings you here…behind a tree?"

"Oh!" I said, and turned to look at the tree, like it had just gotten there. "Well, um – I'm…I'm going to play a prank."

"A prank?" Jun said, raising an eyebrow. "On whom, may I ask?"

Just then I heard a high-pitched giggle and a roaring bark of laughter, and I turned and saw Scorp and Lily bursting out of the Three Broomsticks, jumping around like chocolate frogs on the loose, wands flashing around and sparks flying through the air as they carried out an elaborate swordfight, with everyone inside the pub crowding around the door and cheering them on as they watched. And the way Scorp was looking at her...the way he was smiling…wow, it hurt bad for some reason.

"What's your boyfriend doing with Lily?" Jun said sharply, looking at Scorp then back to me. "Rose – Rose, he's not-"

Unfortunately he didn't get to finish his sentence, because there were several loud popping sounds, and about two dozen hooded figures suddenly filled the square, wands out and pointed at the nearest student. There was a very pregnant pause, and suddenly the entire street broke out in screams of panic, and students began running around left and right. The air immediately became filled with jets of light, and I ducked at a bright purple jet shot towards me, and I ducked, and when I stood up to look at what had nearly hit me I saw a nicely-sized hole burned through the tree trunk. I whipped my wand out and turned around to meet Scorp's panicked eyes – he had an arm around Lily, but was staring at me, horrified.

_What's going on? _He mouthed, panting.

_Like I know,_ I mouthed back, and started down the hill towards Scorp and Lily.

"Wait!" I heard Jun cry, but for once I actually ignored him. I dodged a couple spells, did a couple twists and turns, and found my path blocked by an immense hooded figure. I turned to run but there was another right behind me, and then another two at my left and right. Heart pounding, I held up my wand and tried to make myself look as big as possible. It probably didn't work. The big one in front of me wordlessly raised his wand and pointed it directly at my chest.

"ROSE!" I heard Scorp scream, and there was a loud scuffle and I heard a dull clunk, as if someone had whacked another's head over. "NO! ROSE! ROOOSE! LILY, RUN!"

"That's not her," said a deep voice from behind the man in front of me. My captors all lowered their wands and parted, and a smaller, thinner cloaked figure stepped towards me, sticking out an arm and grabbing my chin, turning my face from side to side. "This one's a Weasley."

They all Disapparated with a pop, and I crumpled to the ground, immobilized by fear. For a split second I thought they were gone for good, and then I saw them Apparate in a circle around a fleeing figure – around Lily.

It was my turn to scream. "No!" I cried, and I scrambled to my feet, running towards my cousin with all my might. "No! Lily! LILY!"

"Al!" Lily screamed, and I saw that some more hooded figures had Apparated beside the ones surrounding Lily, Albus suspended in the air and bound with rope, unconscious. Scorpius and Jun appeared panting at my side, and grabbed my arms to restrain me.

"No!" I said, squirming and writhing in their grips. "No! My cousins! Lily! Albus! Let them go! Let them go you sick-"

"Rose!" Jun yelled, clamping his hand over my mouth. It's funny – any other day I'd probably have rolled over and died from happiness that he was touching my face, but right now all I could think about was that my cousins were being abducted.

"Shut up, moron," Scorp hissed in my ear. "They'll be after you next."

I screamed and lurched forward when they all Disapparated, and suddenly the cries ringing through the air, and the spells flashing through the air, and the hooded figures Disapparated one by one with ear-splitting pops, and there was a strange, quiet calm leftover, and Lily and Al were gone.

"No," I whispered, and whirled around, searching each pale, terror-stricken face desperately. "Hugo!" I yelled, wrenching myself from Scorp and Jun's grips and running off towards Zonko's – his favorite hangout spot. "Hugo! Hugo, where are you?! HUGO!"

"Rose!" I heard his voice from my left and I swiveled around, and saw his freckles standing out like ink blots on his pale face. "What're you doing?"

I didn't answer, I just frantically ran to him and wrapped him in a bone-crushing hug, panting and wheezing and smashing his face into my shoulder.

"You're okay," I whispered, relieved. I looked back at the doorway he'd just come out of. "What were you doing in the Hog's Head? Never mind, I don't want to know-"

"It wasn't anything bad," he said defensively, jerking away. "We – my friends and I – were just fighting off some dodgy blokes in hoods. They came in and started shooting off spells like mad, but since there were like a dozen or so people inside, we managed to outnumber them and drive them out. They seemed to be looking for someone…do you know anything about that?"

A lump rose in my throat as Scorp and Jun came running up behind me, wheezing. "Yeah," I said, straightening up and looking him square in the eye. "Yeah, actually…Lily and Albus, Hugo. They're gone. Whoever those people were – they took our cousins with them."

…

"The Repercussionists," McGonagall said grimly. "There've only been murmurs and rumors about them, but they're an underground terrorist group that's hell-bent on avenging the defeat of their forefathers, the Death Eaters, and everything they stood for. At least, that's what we hypothesize. And it looks to have been proven true, because now they've gone and captured the Potter siblings."

"All because Harry Potter's their father?" I asked, indignant. McGonagall nodded solemnly.

Jun and Scorp were sitting on either side of me, both of them seemingly fascinated with the patterns on the rug, because they hadn't looked me in the face since we'd gotten to the Headmistress's office. Hugo was standing beside her desk, absentmindedly playing with the Newton Ball set on her desk, where each ball took on a different color every time it collided with another.

"Your father and uncle should be on their way," she said firmly, running a hand through her silvery-grey hair. "I contacted them as soon as I heard what was happening – they are the heads of the Auror department, after all, and your family as well. I'm sure they'll handle things quite efficiently."

Sure enough, Dad, James, Aunt Ginny, and Uncle Harry all burst in at the same time, breathing heavily and looking pale.

"Professor!" Uncle Harry said, striding over to McGonagall, who had stood up as soon as they entered. "Tell me everything that happened to my children, exactly, no details left out, and quickly because we're losing time."

"I suggest you ask them, Potter," McGonagall said softly, nodding towards me. Uncle Harry rounded on me and pointed his wand at my chest. Jun grasped my arm, and Scorp stood up.

"Harry!" Dad and Aunt Ginny said, and he lowered it quickly, breathing heavily.

"Sorry, Rosie," Harry muttered, and stowed his wand away into his robes. "Force of habit. Were…were you really there when Lily and Al were taken?"

"Yeah," I answered, my throat dry as I recalled the image of an unconscious Al suspended and bound in midair, and Lily in the clutches of that immense hooded figure. "And they nearly went after me and Hugo, too."

"What?" Dad said sharply, coming towards me. "They were after you guys as well?"

"I saw them Apparate all throughout the Hogsmeade Main Street," I said, picturing it in my mind. "They were firing off spells everywhere, and I was nearly hit. I ran towards Lily to try and protect her, but they had me surrounded, and I thought they were about to take me when another one appeared and said that "I was a Weasley", and they immediately let me go and went for Lily, and I saw that they had Al tied up to, and I tried to help them, Dad, I really did, but they Disapparated before I could get to them, and Uncle Harry, Auntie Ginny, I'm so, so sorry. James," I said, rushing over to him and throwing my arms around his neck. "I've missed you so much, and I'm so sorry!"

"You've done very well, Rose," Auntie Ginny said, smiling. "And you were so brave. Thank you. For everything."

"Yeah, and we'd best get going," James said over the top of my head. He pulled away and grinned down at me. "It was good to see you again too, Rosie. I've missed you as well."

I stared at them in amazement. "You aren't mad that I let them get away?"

"Of course not," Dad said, stroking my hair. "You and Hugo could have been taken too, and then everything would have been ten times worse than it already is. We're going to find your kids, Harry, alright? So let's go right away, before they have time to even blink."

"You guys have a lead?" Auntie Ginny asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Uncle Harry said, giving her a brief hug and kiss. Everyone turned to look at him in surprise. "Well, it's obvious, isn't it? The Repercussionists – all they want is to kill me, so what better way to lure me to them than using my children as bait, right? So they'll be where they want me to find them – and where's the last place Voldemort had me in his clutches? The Forbidden Forest."

"Brilliant, Harry!" Dad breathed. "Let's go then, hurry!"

"Thanks, Rose!" James said, and he led the way as Dad and Uncle Harry followed him out of the office. Just before leaving, though, Dad stopped and turned around, pointing first at me, then at Scorp.

"So…so it's true, then? You weren't – you were telling the truth?"

I nodded, wondering how anyone could possibly care about something like that at a time like this.

Dad glared at Scorp, who shrunk visibly under his gaze, and swept out of the room.

"Professor," Hugo said, and McGonagall turned to look at him. "So, is it alright if we – I mean, can we leave now?"

"Yes, Weasley," she sighed heavily. "Go and get some rest. You too Corner, Malfoy. And Ms. Weasley," she said, and waited until everyone else had left the office and shut the door behind them. "You said nobody else saw what happened except for yourself, Mr. Malfoy, and Mr. Corner, and you only told your brother and no one else?" I nodded. "Then, please tell them not to breathe a word of the kidnapping to any of the other students. They'll listen if they hear it from you."

I nodded, and we exchanged brief smiles before I turned and walked out, the doors shutting softly behind me. I managed to walk a couple of steps before my legs turned to lead and I sunk to the ground, my chest convulsing and strange whimpering sounds escaping my throat. The next think I knew, there were these warm, muscular arms around me, and then someone was hugging me to their chest, and stroking my hair, and suddenly my tears were flowing freely from my eyes for the first time in forever, and Scorps's voice was whispering in my ear, "Rose, it's okay. I'm here now. Everything is going to be fine."

…

**A/N: Sorry for all that drama, I've been watching Once Upon a Time all over again. :) **

**OMG DID ANYONE BUY CASUAL VACANY? ANYONE? CUZ I DID AND ISN'T IT GOOOOD? (If you're 14 and under, PLZ don't read it!) **

**Review, my loves!**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

**A/N: This chapter is dedicated to VintageSun – thanks for all the support! I can't tell you how much it means to me! Sorry it's so short, but there's a surprise guest whom you all know and love, so read on ;)**

**And yeah, IKnowWhoYouAre, I **_**do**_** know who you are, and I also know where **_**you**_** live, too ;)**

***Rolls eyes* sixth graders. 3**

_IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII _

"So," Scorp said after I'd finished crying. I felt kind of bad – I'd gotten eyeliner stains all over his shirt. "You probably won't believe me when I tell you this, but I have a lead."

I sniffled, and wiped my nose on my sleeve. "What are you talking about, Malfoy?"

"Your father and Harry Potter went to the wrong place," he said, shaking his head. "The Repercussionists aren't in the Forbidden Forest, Rose."

I stared at him, trying to process what he was telling me. "Then…what are you saying? You know where my cousins are?"

"Yes," he said eagerly, standing up and offering me his hand. "And we'd better hurry before Lily and Potter get into any more trouble. I mean it, Rose. They could be in serious danger. We have to go. _Now_."

"What?" I said, startled. "Wait – _what_? You think you know where they are, but you didn't tell my uncle when he was actually there?!" What was the matter with him?

"I got this note a few minutes ago," he said, opening his hand and showing me a crumpled up piece of parchment. "You were so busy crying that you must not have noticed. It kind of just appeared in midair in a burst of flame, and I reached up and caught it. I can't believe you didn't notice me reading it over your shoulder," he shook his head and chuckled. "It said that The Repercussionists have your cousins at Kensington Gardens, and I think it may be from Father."

I took the parchment, smoothed it out, and looked up at him, glaring. "There's nothing on here, you git! Just what are you playing at?"

"What?" Scorp said, sounding surprised. "Let me see – ah! There!"

I gasped as fiery letters began to blossom up on the parchment, carving words into the paper with flame. It wasn't in handwriting – it looked like the font the Muggles use when they type something up.

"Maybe the words only show when I touch it," Scorp said thoughtfully. "That's something Father would do. He trusts very few, you know."

"Yeah, yeah," I mumbled, trying to read the font at an angle. "Look at this! 'Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy,'" I read, grinning, despite myself. "Hyperion?"

"Shut up," he snapped, glaring. "Rose _Harriet_."

Point taken. "Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy," I continued. "You will find the terrorist group known as The Repercussionists holding as captives Albus Severus Potter and Lily Luna Potter in Kensington Gardens, hiding in the Italian Gardens between the hours of 5:24pm on April 3rd to 11:16pm on April 4th. This widow of time is how long the Potter siblings have left to live. Be prepared to duel."

I looked up at him, feeling my heart drop. Scorp was even paler than usual as he stared back at me.

"There's no signature," I said, checking it again. "Are you sure it's from your father? It could be a trap."

"I'm pretty sure," he said, but not sounding convinced. "It's addressed to me, after all. It appeared exactly where I was standing. And Father's buddy-buddy with some pretty shady blokes, so perhaps he's trying to help us because he doesn't agree with what they're doing."

"He doesn't?" I asked, and then immediately wished I could take it back. But Scorpius didn't seem offended at all.

"Well, no, of course not," Scorp said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "There's been anti-Pureblood sentiment since the end of the Second Wizarding War, but only for those families who've remained loyal to the idea of Pureblood superiority. And if you knew Father, you'd know that _that's_ all over and done with for him."

I faintly recalled my dad's face that first day at King's Cross, when he told me to stay away from Scorp, because Grandad Weasley would never forgive me if I married a Pureblood. I smiled faintly.

"Well, if it's a trap or not, I'm still gonna go," I said, wiping underneath my eyes to get rid of any mascara smears. "Are you coming or what?"

"That's what I kept saying!" He replied, and hurried to my side. "Dear God, why Lily of all people?"

I didn't say anything. He must have been feeling so miserable, what with the love of his life in the hands of some evil Potter-haters. I briefly wondered if Jun would do the same for me, and felt my heartbeat quicken as I pictured his agonized face watching me being tortured by some hooded figure, calling my name with tears in his eyes…

Ahem. Let's not get carried away now, Rosie.

"So, how are we supposed to get to Kensington Gardens?" I asked, breaking into a run. "It's so far away! And we can't Apparate unless we're off school grounds, and going back to Hogsmeade now is out of the question, so what should we do?"

"I don't know!" Scorp said, frustrated. "I was hoping you'd come up with a plan for that, Miss The-Sorting-Hat-Was-Just-About-To-Put-Me-In-Ravenclaw."

"Well, it's your girl we're going to go save," I shot back. "You're the leader."

"My girl?! She's _your _cousin! Both of them are!"

I would have bitten back with an extremely witty and insulting retort, but Uncle Neville – Professor Longbottom, that is, decided then was a good time to jump out at me so that I crashed into him and was nearly thrown back from the force.

"Hello, Rosie," he said, arms crossed. "Scorpius. And just where do you two think you're going?"

"Oh," I said, and I zoomed into Scorp's embrace. "We were just – out. You know. For an afternoon stroll."

"Were you really?" Uncle Neville said, sounding unconvinced. "Because it looked like you two lovebirds were heading towards the Forbidden Forest. Now, that can't be right, can it?"

"No," Scorp said with a straight face. "It absolutely can't. Because we weren't going there. At all."

Uncle Neville sighed. "Look, Rosie – your dad contacted me and told me what happened, and to watch out for you and your brother. But I can't do that," he said, stepping aside and unblocking my path towards the front doors. "If you decide my advice is not worth heeding. So I'm going to turn around and go back to my office, because I know you're going to do _exactly what you're supposed to_, as a Gryffindor, which is the right thing."

I stared at him, amazed, as he brushed past us and headed towards his office.

"Oh," he said, turning back and coming up to me. "And one more thing. I've been meaning to give you this." He pulled out a large, golden Galleon hung like a pendant on a chord out of his pocket and handed it to me. I stared blankly at it.

"This was something that came in handy for your family and I a long time ago," he said, looking at it fondly. "Ever since the end of the war we've used it so that we can communicate with each other inconspicuously – us and several other good friends. When you change the numbers inscribed along the edges," he continued, pointing at the serial numbers engraved into the gold. "The numbers on your parents' coin will change as well, and all the help in the world will come to you, stat."

"Wow," I said, amazed. "Like a Proteus charm? Isn't it interesting – there was a god in Greek mythology who could shape-shift rapidly and at will, and in 62 B.C it was invented by a vigilante in Sicily who would stalk the city at night and change his appearance whenever he wanted, and the Wizarding community didn't know who he was so they called him Proteus, and when he was caught they made him reveal how he could change shapes so fast and he showed them how to do that charm and thus the Proteus charm was born, and ever since - "

"Oh, my God – Weasley, shut up." Scorp said, digging his elbow into my rib. "This isn't exactly the right time for your palavering now, is it?"

"Right, well, I'm going for a spot of tea," Uncle Neville said, looking me meaningfully in the eyes. "And jam. Hmm, yeah, tea and toast with jam sound really good right now."

And he walked off.

"Right," I said, just a little nonplussed, but cool enough not to show it. "What did the cryptic note say about what time we had to be there? Five what?"

"Five twenty-four," Scorp replied, checking his watch. "And – bloody hell, Rose, you'll never guess what time it is right now!"

"Now way," I shrieked, rounding on him. "Is it really five twenty-four?"

"Nah," he said, and cracked up. "It's only four forty-seven."

"Then let's go," I said, grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the great oak doors. "We should get there as fast as possible – God knows what they're doing to Al and Lily right now. Hey," I interjected, cutting myself off. "Those Repercussionists – well, they're really precise, aren't they? I mean, telling your dad to meet them there at five twenty-four on April 3rd, and that he's free to go the next day at eleven…"

"Sixteen."

"Eleven sixteen the next day. I mean, come on! Don't you think that's a bit dodgy, even for a terrorist group? They're really precise and organized…and it makes them all the more fearsome."

"Oooh, little Rose Weasley, Gryffindor extraordinaire, scared," he mocked, smirking. I could have hit him. "Don't tell me you're afraid of them?"

"Of course I'm afraid!" I cried, rounding on him. We were just in front of the great oak doors. "But being afraid isn't an excuse to walk away from doing the right thing. I'll go after my family if it kills me, because that's what family is all about!"

He didn't say anything, just looked at me with raised eyebrows. Yeah, fine, whatever. Be a skeptic. You'll see, you'll all see! (No, there's not really a 'you all' to actually watch, I just always wanted to say that).

"Lily and Potter," he said finally, really quietly. "Are really lucky to have a cousin like you."

Well that really warmed my heart when he said that. I even felt myself turning red. Too embarrassed to say anything, I turned and pushed open the front doors and ran out onto the lawn, turning right and heading towards Hogsmeade. Scorp ran at my side.

You wanna know something funny? I was just wondering where Jun had gone off to when he swooped down in front of me, landing softly on the grass and catching his broomstick skillfully in his hand. I almost fainted; there were sweat drops on his neck and the side of his face, and he was flushed and glowing, and I could literally see his abs poking out from underneath his Quidditch robes…

"Rose," he said, ignoring Scorpius point-blank. "What are you doing?"

Scorp and I exchanged glances. "We were just – just, ah –"

"You're going after Lily and Al, aren't you?" He said, a wry, twisted smile on his face. "Stupid of me even to ask."

"So what?" Scorpius said defiantly, squaring his chest and looking Jun straight in the eye. "She can do what she wants, it's a free country. And last time I checked, none of it was your business, Corner."

I shot Scorp a Shut-Up-What-Are-You-Doing look and grinned nervously at Jun. "Well, I guess there's no fooling a Ravenclaw. Yeah, we're off on a rescue mission."

"Don't go," he said immediately, boring his eyes into mine. I almost died from the intensity – and the hotness of it all. "Rose, please, it's suicide. I couldn't bear it if anything happened to you. You're one of my closest friends."

OMFJDFIJFDIJJDSGINJGFSIRERYH F he couldn't bear it if anything happened to me! He thinks I'm one of his closest friends! Eeeeeeehhhh!

"Then come along," Scorp said, and I rounded on him, mouth open.

"What!?" I cried. "No, no bloody way you're coming, Jun, it's too dangerous. These people are _terrorists_ for Merlin's sake!"

"Exactly why I've got to come," he said, stepping towards me. I swear, if my heart was beating any faster it'd pop out of my chest. "You think I'd let you go alone, with only Malfoy for protection?"

"Oi!" Scorp said indignantly, and threw Jun a look of deepest disgust. "Pull another comment like that and you'll see just what kind of protection I can offer her. Especially from _you_."

Playing it up a bit, aren't we, Scorp? I thought, but let it go. Instead I turned to Jun and looked him in the eye.

"If you want to come, then come, but your life will me at stake," I told him seriously. "Are you still willing to go?"

He just looked at me. "Of course," Jun nodded solemnly. Then he shrugged adorably and gave me a small smile. "I'd go anywhere with you, Rose."

He stepped forward and gave me a hug. I saw Scorpius pretending to vomit behind his back.

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**A/N: So sorry for the late update! Busy busy busy! I hope this chapter was worth it!**

**Commentary: **

**So I put Neville in here because I couldn't resist, and as you can see, he's like THE coolest teacher anybody could have. At least, I think so :) Yeah, I kept it cannon, so he's married to Hannah Abbot (though I wish it was Luna) and I imagine they had kids super early and that they're already graduated and working as Aurors :)**

**I think this is the moment when Scorpius falls in love with Rose – you can't tell, obviously, because it's from her point of view, but did you notice how cynical he was being towards Jun? And the part where Rose chooses to go save her cousins anyways, even though it might be a trap – he was really touched by that, and never really knew she had that kind of bravery in her. **

**I'm liking how Rose's character is developing; at first, she was a stuck up, vain little- well, you know- and it was fun to write, but now she's realizing that she doesn't know everything and that there are more important things than her love life and teenage drama :) **

**Reviews mean you're beautiful! 3**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

So, there we were, standing on Hogsmeade's main street, just about to Apparate when I heard a twig snap loudly, and I whirled around to see my brother, Clara, and Levy standing there, looking guilty. I narrowed my eyes at them.

"Were you guys following us that entire time?" I said angrily, stomping towards them.

"Uh, no," Hugo said, ruffling his hair nervously. "Actually, we weren't, Rosie. Uncle Neville told us to come and find you."

"Oh, and you just happened to be sneaking around behind our backs now, then, is that it?" I said, grabbing my brother's ear and yanking hard, making him whimper like a little girl.

"Oi!" Levy said, stepping forward. "Rose, be nice. We're only here to help you."

"We want to come with you!" Clara exclaimed, darting forward and taking my hand in both of hers. "Rose, please, Lily and Al are our friends too, and we'd be pretty shoddy friends if we just let you meander off to London with just those two for protection, wouldn't we?"

"S'not like you could do better," Scorp muttered under his breath behind me.

"I don't want to put you guys in jeopardy!" I cried, tears beginning to well up in my eyes. They looked at me, startled. Well, good, so the waterworks were having some effect. It always worked on Dad – I was hoping I could duplicate the effect here. I stuck out my lower lip and widened my eyes slightly. "You lot – you all mean the world to me. You're the best friends I could ever have, and it's bad enough that I can't do anything to stop them coming," I said, gesturing at Scorp and Jun (but I really meant Jun). "And I couldn't bear it if any of you got hurt because of me."

"We're not coming because of _you_," Hugo said loudly. I scowled at him. "We're coming because we want to and there's nothing you can do to stop us."

"Rose," Scorpius said in my ear. "I could care less about Corner coming along, but as for this lot – unless we fight them off, there's really nothing we can do to stop them."

I looked at Clara and Levy, their pale, determined faces. I looked at my brother, and had to fight the urge to pinch his cheeks and ruffle his hair. I turned to Jun and met his eyes. He nodded. I looked over my shoulder at Scorp, who was staring back at me with an unreadable expression.

"Alright, fine!" I said, regretting the words immediately after they'd left my mouth. "But if any of you die, I swear I'm gonna kill you."

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Famous last words, as it turned out. Here's what happened;

Hugo, who can't Apparate or Disapparate for sh- er, anything, experienced his first Side-Along Apparation today. I felt a little guilty when we Apparated in front of the park entrance for Splinching him, (yes, on purpose – his bangs were getting too long, he could do without them), but then he started freaking out and running around and making such a ruckus that I went and Stunned him.

"Rose!" Jun exclaimed, as I rolled my brother over and performed a Dillusionment charm, and stuffed him into a nearby bush.

"What?" I said defensively, brushing my hands off on my skirt. "He was slowing us down, wasn't he? Plus the kid can't even duel properly, how do you expect a sixteen –year-old to take on terrorists?"

"We're seventeen," Levy said, gesturing at the rest of us. I glared at her.

"Scorp, what time is it?" I threw at him over my shoulder. He checked his watch, and looked up at me with a look of astonished disbelief.

"Five twenty-four," he said finally, and I froze in surprise.

"What? Clara asked, looking between us. "What? Something you lovebirds wanna tell us?"

"Don't worry about it," I told her, turning back to the entrance. "Leave Hugo there, alright? He'll be safer."

"Wait – where are we going?" Jun asked, running after me, followed by Clara and Levy. Scorpius was at my side.

"The Italian Gardens!" I cried, looking around desperately for a map. "Aw, forget it – _Accio_ park map!"

A colorful brochure came zooming towards me, and I reached up and caught it with a slight jump. Nearly tearing it open, I saw a large diagram of the park, with a small section labeled "Italian Gardens", and I crumpled it up as I clenched my fist.

"Follow me," I said, and took off, my heart pounding out of my chest. If it really was five-thirty, and we only had until eleven-sixteen to get my cousins back, that gave us five and three-quarters hours until they – or we, died. Well, according to the mysterious burning letter we'd gotten. Which, apparently, might just be from Scorpius's father. Draco Malfoy. Pureblood Extraordinaire. Something wasn't right here.

"Are you _sure_ that letter was from your father?" I hissed at him, slightly out of breath from running. We turned a corner. "I mean, for all we know, he could secretly be a Repercussionist too."

Scorp frowned at me. "I thought you said you'd do this even if it was a trap?"

"Yeah, I know, and I still will, but it just doesn't make sense. I don't know a lot about your father, except that he used to be a Death Eater, right? Well what if-"

"My father made a lot of mistakes in his past," Scorp said grimly, looking me in the eye. "But he has, and continues to still atone for them to this day. Please, Rose, I can advocate my father's position on mixed-blood sentiment, and it's in his favor, okay? You have to believe me when I say he is a good man."

"Okay," I said, feeling for some reason uncomfortable and unwilling to look him in the eye. "I believe you. I'm sorry."

He was silent for a moment, and then leaned down closer to me and said in my ear, "That was a really sweet thing you did back there."

"What?"

"Stunning your brother," he said, a small smirk forming on his lips. "The others might have bought your little 'tough love' episode back there, but I know what you're really up to. You're protecting him."

"What?! I am not! I don't care if he dies, he's always eating my raisin bread at home, and turns my freckles rainbow when I fall asleep in the common room, and he'll pants me at all our family reunions, and he snores like a bear-"

"Oh, shut it," Scorp said, playfully elbowing me. "You love him. He's very lucky to have a sister like you."

Woah, woah, woah, hold it. What in Merlin's name is wrong with me? Scorpius…I can't tear my eyes away from his. And there's that line from "The Princess Bride" running through my head – "With eyes like the sea before a storm." Oh my God. He has such pretty grey eyes. Like storm clouds, or marine layer, or Sickles… no, no, no, what? _Sickles_? Bloody hell, what's gotten into me? I can't look away from him, sure, but – why isn't he looking away from me?

"Rose, watch out!" I heard Jun suddenly scream, and I whirled around, saw a jet of light flying towards my face, and ducked. When I raised my head again, there were hooded figures Apparating out of nowhere all around us, and every single one of them had their wands pointed at us. We drew together as they closed in on us. I glared at the one directly in front of me and pointed my wand right at his chest, silently daring him to make a move.

"It's the Weasley girl!" came a voice somewhere behind me, and I felt all eyes focus on me.

"Let my friends go," I said calmly, trying to stand up straighter on my shaking legs. "And I'll come quietly."

"No!" Scorp said fervently, grabbing my hand. "No! Rose, what are you, stupid?"

"This one here," I said, grabbing his arm and pushing him outward. "Is a Malfoy. Son of Draco Malfoy and Astoria Greengrass. Hurting him would kind of go against your principles, wouldn't it? Shedding Pure blood. Such a waste."

"Rose," Clara whispered in my ear. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to save you guys?" I said in a 'duh' sort of voice. "Now shut up!" I turned back to the Repercussionists. "Look. Your plan went wrong. My uncle and father went to look for you in the Forbidden Forest, but I'm the one who figured out that you lot were hiding out in a Muggle park. Now, take me and let them go, and I promise my father and Harry Potter will come running."

"Do it," a female's voice said, and I breathed a sigh of relief. "But make sure the blonde boy doesn't leave."

Yeah, don't tell my mum about all those dirty words I started shouting, okay? But yeah, I sort of went bonkers on them and started firing off jinxes left and right. Apparently, it was quite a lot for them to handle because several started Disapparating, and I broke off from everyone else and started running around hexing every single Repercussionist I could see, jumping and dodging and ducking and punching, and you really should have been there to see it, because it looked like an all-out battle scene from a movie. Even the others were fighting them off pretty well, and I was starting to feel good about beating them when somebody Stunned me, and I face-planted into the cement.

"Well, now," said the female voice from earlier, and I felt her flip me over and brush my hair back from my face. "So you're Scorp's new girlfriend, huh? Believe me, dear, I'll be doing you a favor by getting him out your hair. Trust me, I would know."

"Mai?" I heard Jun say weakly, before another Repercussionist Stunned him.

Merlin's saggy left buttock, I thought, as the girl lowered her hood and smiled at me. Yep, there was no mistaking it. With her shiny, dark hair and pale white skin and almond shaped eyes, she was exactly what Jun would have looked like if he were a girl.

Of all people, I never would have expected _Mai Corner_ to be a Repercussionist.

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**A/N: AHAHA! BETCHA DIDN'T SEE THAT ONE COMING HUH? MUAHAHAHAHA ROFL I GOT UUU GUYS AHAHAHA!1**

**Sorry. **

**Anyways, yeah. No, she's not evil, just misguided. Yes, Hugo's coming back. Yes, Scorp likes Rose at this point. Yes, Jun also likes Rose at this point. No, the letter was not from Draco Malfoy, and you'll probably never guess who. (I'll give anyone who guesses correctly ten Galleons and a kiss from Jun!)**

**Review!**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"Soo…something you wanted to tell us, _Jun_?" I asked sarcastically.

They'd managed to capture us all, and threw us inside some sort of little gazebo/house type building. We'd all been Stunned and tied up, but me, Scorp, and Jun, were the first ones to come to. Levy and Clara were still frozen on the floor, and Lily and Al were alive, thank God, but still unconscious. The only thing that kept me assured that they weren't dead was the steady, gentle rise and fall of their chests.

Jun looked up at me, away from Lily. "Honestly, Rose. I had no idea. I don't keep track of what my sister does in her free time – we barely even speak to each other while we're at school. She's only a sixth year, so we don't run in the same circles. And when we're at home she's always…she's always…"

A look of realization dawned on his face and his mouth fell open slightly. "She's got posters and fliers of all these activist groups pinned to her walls. Now that I think about it, all of them are about all this anti-Pureblood sentiment going around. And she's only ever gone out with Purebloods, hasn't she? There was you, Malfoy, your cousin, Greengrass, and Jack Brown."

"And she hangs out with Julia Goyle and Catherine Flint," I noted, remembering seeing them working in the library. "And while those girls aren't exactly nutters, they are Pureblood."

"Adrianne Belby was Pureblood too," Scorp muttered from his place on the floor. His hands and feet were tied up, and I figured the reason he was looking at us from over his butt was because he was too lazy to move. "Just another two cents for you."

I frowned at him, taking in the expression on his face and his bitter tone, and put two and two together. "Scorpius…don't tell me you knew about her this whole time?"

"Probably should have mentioned it sooner, huh?" he said, sighing and dropping his head back onto the floor. "Well the thing is that your sister, Corner, seems to care a lot about the social injustices of the Wizarding World."

"Whoah, woah, wait," Levy, who seemed to have just woken up, interjected. "Malfoy, are you telling me that that whole issue with Adrianne and Mai and whatever – that her being a part of the Repercussionists had something to do with it all?"

"Hmm," he grunted, looking away.

I swear I'm gonna kill him. "You've got some explaining to do, Malfoy, if you want to make it through today alive."

He sighed and sighed up. "Well, back when I thought I liked her, it was mostly because she seemed really into me. She'd come up and touch my arm, and poke me, and laugh at all my jokes. I thought she was cute. And then she'd tell me, 'Ooh, Scorpie, it's so rare to find a man who meets all the quotas needed for you ideal guy. You're tall, handsome, smart, sensitive, caring, and Pureblooded. What else could a girl ever ask for?'"

"Okay, my sister did _not_ say that," Jun said, sounding disgusted.

"Erm, yeah, she did mate. Pull out my memory and stuff it in a Pensieve, and you'll hear _all _the words that came out of your little sister's mouth. Just saying. "

"Just ignore him, Jun. Keep going, Malfoy."

"Well, anyways, she was always going on about the 'injustices Purebloods in the post-war generation were facing', like those hate crimes, the discrimination in the work force, the slanders from the media – you know, stuff like that. And she got kind of…_touchy_, you know, whenever I said that blood status didn't matter, that why was she so concerned about it, she was a half-blood herself. And I don't know, it sort of scared me – well, no, not so much scared me as weirded me out – so I dumped her, and Adrianne was there for me…she said Mai had always been like that and maybe if we went out, the both of us would be rid of her. I thought she was hot, so…I agreed. Your sister and Adrianne stopped being friends and all I ever saw of her from then on were her death glares."

"And now they've captured me and Al to lure Dad here," Lily said, her voice shaking. She was sitting up, her hands bound behind her back. "And you too, Rose – you were only trying to save us. Thank Merlin they didn't get Hugo, though."

I felt the others' eyes on me.

So Jun's sister was a terrorist. Interesting. Seeing as she was Jun's sister, Scorp's ex, and a Ravenclaw, she'd probably be coming in here to make sure our circulation wasn't cut off or something. I noticed mine and everyone else's wands were gone and uttered a silent curse, then did some quick thinking; When she did come, she'd probably go on a little spiel about how Dad and Uncle Harry were evil and the source of oppression for all Purebloods, blah, blah, blah. The question was, were they going to kill them? James was with them – he'd probably come to try to rescue us too. The Repercussionists hadn't killed anyone yet, as far as I knew, and if they wanted us dead they would have done it a long time ago. So they weren't fatally dangerous or anything. But how to get out…?

"Rose?" Scorp said nervously. "What's going on inside that enormous ginger head of yours?"

"She's plotting an escape," Lily answered him, watching me warily. "I've seen it thousands of times. It'll be brilliant."

"Most likely they're patrolling the perimeter," I muttered out loud, trying to organize my thoughts. "And I don't there're any bugs in here – And since they took our wands, no encasing spells either, except for these binds. So they won't be able to hear what we're saying in here unless they've got their ears pressed against the crack under the door. And our shadows moved 17 degrees, so it's been about an hour since we were taken out. Dad, Uncle Harry and James haven't come yet…could they not contact them? Maybe they're still in the forest – but how would they know to come here? No, it's best to keep them away…AHH!"

A loud popping noise made us jump out of our seats and we all screamed. Somebody had Apparated into the room with Hugo – my first thought was that the Repercussionists had found him and my heart just about pounded out of my chest. But then she lowered her hood, and I saw she had a lovely shade of red hair tied in a tight bun, and a mask covering the lower part of her face. Hugo was clutching her arm like it was the last piece of treacle fudge Grandma had given us for Christmas.

"Oh, come on, Hugo," she said, and her voice came out muffled. "Don't act like such a baby, James and Al would never let it go."

Hugo cleared his throat and stepped away, flicking his head so that his bangs fell back into place. "Right. Thanks. Rose, I can't believe you Stunned me!"

"Sssshhhh Hugo," I said reassuringly, smiling innocently at him. "It was for the best."

"For the best? This woman found me with a rat on my chest, trying to bite off my nose. You call that for the best?"

"Well, yeah, because now you're here and you can untie us all. But do so quietly, will you, because we don't want them to hear us."

I left him fuming there and turned to the masked woman. "And er…who might you be?"

I think she grinned because her eyes crinkled. "Don't worry about it. I'm here to help."

"Help how?" Jun said, peering at her suspiciously.

"You guys will need Hugo to get out of here – don't take him for granted, Rose, he's getting to be a very powerful wizard."

"How do you know our names?" Scorpius demanded.

"The Repercussionists are surrounding the building, standing guard. They questioned Mai Corner about you first before sending an owl to Harry Potter concerning your whereabouts and the exchange they want to make – Lily and Al for him."

"What about Rose and Hugo?" Al asked. "And the rest of them?"

"They would have let you guys go," she said, glancing at Levy, Clara, and Jun. "After Obliviating you, of course. All they really want is to make an example of Harry. They might have even let Ron and James go, depending on their moods. It's just Mai you've got to watch out for."

"Why?" Jun said, looking worried. "She's brilliant and all, but she's only fifteen."

"She's going to try and stop you lot no matter what it takes. It's the danger of dedication – she feels so passionate about this cause, she'd be willing to give her life fighting for it. That's what makes martyrs so powerful – and so dangerous."

"So Rose, don't worry , okay? I've already sent your father a message telling him where you're at. I signed it from you, too. I know you don't want them to put themselves in danger for your sakes'" she said, holding up a hand as I protested. "But you can't do this alone. So many people in the world are left alone at moments they least need it. You'll see. They don't want you to be alone, because you kids mean the whole world to them."

Okay, who is this? She Apparates in here acting all buddy-buddy with my little brother, she knows all our names, and she starts preaching to me like I've never had a morality lesson before. How does she even know us? And why was she focusing on me?"

"Don't overestimate yourself, Rose," the woman continued, placing a hand on my shoulder. I stared at it, and back at her. "A tragic flaw, overconfidence is."

She made to leave and I exchanged bewildered glances with Jun behind her back, but nearly jumped out of my seat when she turned around and gasped.

"I almost forgot to tell you – apply extra sunscreen when you go outside, okay?" she said, pulling back her sleeve and examining her freckled arm. "You'll thank me later. And don't forget – you lot have until 11:16 pm."

"Wait!" Scorp shouted after her. "You're – you're not going to help us? At least untie us or something!"

"It's too risky to interfere further, you'll see. Bringing Hugo back and sending Harry Potter that letter was about as much as I could do. I'm sorry, but I must leave now. Goodbye."

"Was it you who sent Scorp that letter?" I yelled after her as the thought reached my mind. "If so, just wait a moment! You've managed to confuse me even further, and that's not an easy feat! Just who are you, anyways?"

"I told you, don't worry about it," she said cheerfully, and her eyes sparkled. I wished I could see her face. "You'll find out soon enough."

And she whirled on the spot and was gone.

"What in the – she didn't Disapparate!" I exclaimed, having braced myself for the loud pop that never came. "Did you all see that? She didn't even Disapparate! Then where could she have gone?"

"I'm more concerned about who she is, actually," Jun said darkly. "She said my sister was dangerous, but how are we to know she's really on our side? After all, she went and got Hugo, but it might have just put him in more danger than he was before. And did she really send a letter to your dad? How can we be sure? She might have actually just wanted to see Harry Potter captured…"

"I trust her," Scorp said suddenly, staring intensely at Jun. "The last thing she said – Rose, she said we had until _eleven twenty-four_."

"Yeah, I caught that," I replied, thinking it over. "Which is why I think it was her who sent it to you. If it is, I think we can depend on her, because everything she said in that letter proved to be true."

"What letter?" Clara said confusedly. "What are you two lovebirds talking about?"

"Oh, that's another thing," I found myself saying. Panic flooded me. I willed myself to stop talking, but the words came tumbling out of my mouth. "Scorp and I aren't really lovebirds. We pretended to go out to make you jealous Lily. Yeah, you," I told my very surprised cousin. Scorp was glaring at me like I was a zit on his nose the night of the graduation ball. "He's been in love with you this entire time and you didn't even know it. Go figure. Tell her, Scorp, come on. She deserves to know."

I don't know what made me say it. My heart was pounding against my ribs as everybody looked at me with bewildered expressions. The look on Lily's face would have been hilarious if we weren't in such a serious predicament right now.

"She's right," Scorp said, and a look of horror crossed his face. What was wrong with us? I actually had expected him to refute me and play it off as a joke, but it looked like he was speaking against his will as well. "Rose said she'd help me out. I never – I never thought it'd turn out like this, though."

"…Woah," Lily breathed, and glanced at me, and then at Scorpius. "So you mean…all this time…?"

"Are you kidding me?" Jun burst out, and then a look of panic flashed across his face. "I mean – that is to say – Rose, all this time I've been holding back because I thought you liked Malfoy…but you don't and I…well, I want you for myself!"

A stunned silence greeted his words, and we all kind of just looked around at each other helplessly. What had made us say those things? It had been totally involuntary – unless…but wait...

"Interesting," came a voice from the doorway, and I turned my head to see Mai standing there, her hood down and her shiny dark hair tumbling around her shoulders. "What a few drops of Veritaserum will do, that is. After all the truth you've been spouting out, I hope there'll be some left for your interrogation."

Oooh, Veritaserum. Yep, that would do it.

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**A/N:**** Sorry it took so long to update! It's been like what, three weeks? Sorry! I have over fifty reviews for this story, though, so I'm glad you lot are enjoying it!**

**Nobody guessed who sent the letter correctly hehee. Maybe this chapter will have given you some more clues? In any case, you are bloody brilliant if you can guess who that woman was. 3. Here are some clues: 1. She's not an OC, and she's already been introduced before this. 2. She did NOT Disapparate when she left, but she did Apparate to get inside the room. 3. She is a woman, not a girl. I'd say she's in her late 20's - 30's. :D**

**Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Lots of romantic tension ehehehehee!**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

**A/N: Eh, sorry it took so long to update. I know I left you guys on a cliffhanger last time heehehe. But cha know, college apps, AP tests, last minute SATs, musical rehearsals, essay contests, and MATH HOMEWORK WOOPEE! Fun fact: Did you know that doing math problems triggers the same brain receptors as physical pain? Honestly….**

**Anyways, good job, everybody guessed the identity of the letter sender correctly :)**

My life sucks.

James used to put Veritaserum into my juice every once in a while to get me to tell him who I was dating, and oh my God, I hated it so much. It's the worst feeling in the world – in your mind you're saying one thing and yet all this rubbish truth comes spewing out of your mouth and the harder you try to lie the more truthful your words become. It's terrible. I can see why James loved it.

And now Lily is making goo-goo eyes at Scorp, and won't stop oh-so-subtlety scooting closer to him. Funny how quickly that girl bounces back. I mean, one minute she's head over heels with some guy who's totally out of her league, and then she's moving in on the son of her father's sworn enemy. Personally, I've always thought my cousin was a bit of a masochist what with her high heels and her Potions obsession, but now I see it as clear as day. Masochistic. Good for you, Lily.

And Al, of course, is glaring daggers at Scorpius. Well, I don't blame him, I mean, he and Scorp always hated each other, and now that he's declared his undying love for his baby sister, he has even more reason to despise him. Plus, I think he thinks this is all Scorp's fault, mostly because after he came back from interrogation he looked straight at him and scowled, mouthing "This is all your fault". Scorp's determinedly avoiding his gaze, of course. Actually he's not really looking at anybody really. He's just kind of staring at the floor, his head hung low. If I didn't know him as well as I do, I'd say he's embarrassed about that whole little spiel he gave on his feelings for Lily.

Which he shouldn't be really, because she's like, all over him right now. It's kind of making me sick.

Jun's in for interrogation at the moment, and then it's Clara, and then it's me. Mai started with Hugo, which had me really worried because he was the only one who hadn't been captured with the rest of us, and therefore hadn't had any Veritaserum. Thankfully, it seemed as if they had run out or something, and Hugo lied to them, saying he'd Apparated in to try and save us. Then they took Lily, then Levy, then Albus, Scorpius, and Jun, and left Clara and I for last. I dunno why. Probably because I'm the leader. I just know villains love doing that for some reason.

They came for Clara, bringing a gagged and blindfolded Jun in tow. The bloke that had him floating along behind them flicked his wand lazily and Jun crumpled to the ground, groaning. I leapt up and rushed to help him as best I could – my hands were still tied.

"What'd they ask you?" I said, kneeling down beside him. God – even sweaty and dirty and with messy hair he was beyond hot. "They didn't hurt you, did they?"

"He's fine," Scorp said sullenly, rolling his eyes. "Look at him; he's fawning all over you."

"I just wish your dad and uncle would hurry up," Jun said, ignoring him. "I'm getting hungry."

"Oh, poor baby," Hugo said, sounding annoyed.

"Stop it, you guys, none of this is his fault," I shot back. "He said he knew nothing about Mai's Repercussionist ideals. And it's not like he's on their side either."

"You're only defending him because you love him," Scorpius muttered. "I know you've always been shallow, Weasley, but I thought you'd made some improvement these past couple of days. My mistake."

Strangely stung by his vicious tone, my voice caught in my throat as I opened my mouth to retort, but before I could say anything, some more cloaked figures silently glided into the room and picked up Clara by the arms, carrying her away down the hall and slamming the door behind them.

"Oh, shove it, Malfoy," Jun snapped. "If this is anyone's fault, it's yours. You're the one who knew she was a Repercussionist."

"No I didn't-" Scorp snarled, but was cut off by Lily's loud "ENOUGH!"

We all stared at her, amazed.

"I do believe Rose has a plan, if we'd all care to shut it for about two seconds," she said calmly. A faint bell struck in my head. A plan. That's right. I made one of those, not too long ago.

"When you were in the interrogation," I said quietly to Jun, paranoid one of the guards might hear. "Hugo told me he found a knife in that bush I stuffed him in. He's got it in his pocket – go on, show them Hugh."

"That's sort of impractical, what with the way I'm positioned and all," he said sarcastically. Well, he did have a point. I mean, having your hands and feet bound with magical rope is definitely not the best position to be in to get a knife out of your pocket.

"Well, whatever, you can see the end sticking out there, right?" I said, motioning towards my brother. A small sliver of metal poked out from his back pocket innocently. "They didn't confiscate it because it didn't show up on their Secrecy Sensors – it's not a magical object. And it got me to thinking; if a non-magical object like the floor can shatter a magical object, like a crystal ball, then wouldn't a Muggle knife be able to cut magical ropes?"

"Yeah, but how are we supposed to get it out?" Jun whispered back.

"Hugo, do that flip thing I always see you do," I told him, and he flushed bright red.

"How do you know about that?" he demanded.

"I'm your sister. I knew all about your little kung-fu phase two summers back. Besides, you got really good at it, so go ahead and try it. The knife should fall out of your pocket and you can grab it and cut yourself loose, and then help everyone else out."

Blushing, Hugo sat up, and swung his arms under his butt and over his legs and feet, then rolled backwards and stood up. He bent down and grabbed the knife, slid it up into his fingers, and sliced through the rope with ease. Everybody stared at him in shock.

"Hugh – since when could you do that?!" Al said in alarm.

"Yeah, and can you teach me?" Lily asked enthusiastically.

"Alright, alright, focus," I said. "Hugo, get over here and cut me loose, and hurry up while you're at it so we can ambush the guards when they come back for me."

"Wait – what?!" Jun looked at me with wide eyes. "We're gonna fight them?"

"Well, what did you think?" Scorp drawled sarcastically. "That Rose would just sit back and take it all? If you knew her at all you'd know in an instant that she'll be the first one to charge at them when they come. That's just how she is. Walking the line between brave and moronic."

"Moronic?" I said, offended, as Hugo came over and cut the rope binding my hands. "I'm not moronic! Merlin's pants, Scorpius, you're sure in a foul mood of sorts. You've never called me moronic before."

"You _are_ a moron, Weasley. For being such a brilliant genius, you're a blithering idiot. Can't see beneath the tip at all."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly."

"Alright!" Al yelled. "Malfoy, we all know she's a bit of an airhead sometimes, but come off it. She did come up with an escape plan, after all."

"I wasn't referring to that," Scorp muttered, locking eyes with me. Oh, God, his steel-grey eyes. It was weird…I felt my chest tighten and a rush of heat to my face.

"Right," I said, looking away. "As I was saying," I reached over and cut Hugo's bonds. "We ambush them when they come back with Clara. They have wands and we don't. That's okay." I walked over to Levy and cut her free. "All we need is a distraction. Levy, you're the fastest runner, so you and Clara head straight for the interrogation room and grab our wands. Don't let them see you leaving. When you come back, you can Stun them and we'll make a break for it."

"But…Rose…" Levy said, looking at me fearfully. I felt my heart melt as I looked into my best friend's face: She was afraid.

"Levy, I've seen you at it. You're an amazing runner. Clara and I have been to all your track meets during the summer, and I have no doubt that you could be in the Olympics if you tried. Sans magic," I said, grinning. Feeling that it needed a little extra something, I crouched down and gave her a hug. "I know you can do it. I have complete faith in you. Those terrorists won't even know what hit them."

"Yeah, I know," she breathed, squeezing me back. "Of course; I'm in."

"And Jun," I said, releasing Levy and moving over to him. "I know you've never hit anybody in your life, and I'm sorry to ask you to do this, but-"

"I'll do it," he said firmly. I met his eyes and felt heat rise to my face. His hand came up and brushed a curl behind my ear. "I won't let any of them hurt you."

Rfkldjioaijfdafvdsfarhnviorv djkladg he's not letting any of them hurt me! Eeeehh!

I couldn't force the huge grin that formed on my face away, so I just turned around and began hacking away at Lily's bonds.

"Lils, I know you're pretty wand-happy most of the time, but do you think you can transfer all that energy into your fists for today?"

"I suppose," she said, looking down. "Listen, Rose – I'm sorry. I didn't know that you…well."

"No, I'm sorry," I said quietly, so that only she could hear me. I bent over and took her hands into mine. "It's all my fault and I should have told you before. And listen, I'm sorry about Scorp…if you don't feel the same about him…"

"Now, who said anything about that?" she said defensively. "I seemed to have misjudged him. He's a really good guy."

"Hm," I nodded, sneaking a glance at him. "Yeah. You're pretty lucky."

I felt her eyes on my face, and suddenly felt very uncomfortable. Looking away, I turned instead to Albus. "Get over here, Al."

"Rose, you know I'm no good if I'm not on a broom," he said worriedly as I cut his hands free. "I'll probably end up accidentally punching you in the face or something."

"Don't be so nervous," I said cheerfully, ruffling his hair. "I saw what you did to Montague last week – by the way, I'll have you know, he's spread the word around that it was actually a rogue Bludger that broke his nose and gave him that black eye."

"Really?" Al said, brightening up. "I gave him a black eye?"

"Yeah, he had it cured before he left the hospital wing, though," I said, winking. "Guess he didn't want it out that his thick hide is actually mortal. But don't fight too much, because I can't get you out of every detention you get into."

"Well he deserved it," Al mumbled. "It was _my_ pudding after all."

"Scorpius," I said finally, turning to him and bending down. "Do you know what to do, or could you stand taking orders from a moron?"

"Of course I'll do what you say," he said roughly, not meeting my eyes. "What other choice do I have?"

"Good – then you can forgive me," I said, looking away as well. "I tried to stop talking, Scorp, but I couldn't – it was awful. I – I didn't want things to end this way."

He turned his face and met my eyes.

"But see? It all worked out for the best. We both got what we wanted. Lily really likes you, and now Jun and I can…why are you looking at me like that?" I blurted out, noticing his face was extremely close to mine. The others were too far away to hear what we were saying, so it must have looked very strange from over there.

"So you wanted it like this?" he murmured. My heart fluttered. My head spun. His breath was on my lips. "Everything's gone exactly according to plan, Rose?"

Merlin, Scorpius, don't say my name like that, you'll make my heart burst.

"Did you ever stop to think," he said quietly, his eyes dead serious. "About what would happen if what_ I_ wanted had changed along the way?"

I stared at him, shocked. No way. He couldn't mean…not in a million years…

The door burst open, and Clara stood there, flanked by at least six or seven other hooded figures. There was a heartbeat in which I could literally feel the room tense, and then I shouted "Now!" and all of us up and charged them.

Now, I've never really punched anybody to try and hurt them, but it's actually kind of fun. Like, yeah, your knuckles kind of hurt after the fourth or fifth blow, but you still feel pretty cool doing it. I think I managed to shatter a jaw or two when I felt a hand grab my wrist and pull it behind my back. I froze when I felt somebody's wand tip at my throat.

"Well, well, well, it's the little Weasley girl," the Repercussionist's voice rasped in my ear. "You're father's been quite the thorn in our side, you know. Of course, your family's always been a load of blood-traitors, but then he went and married that disgusting Mudblood-"

"Oi!" Roared my brother, and flung a very high kick, managing to knock out my captor. "I happen to find 'Mudblood' offensive. Please use the politically correct term, 'Mahwd-blawhd!'"

"Mum would hex you if she heard you saying that," I laughed, aiming another blow at an oncoming Repercussionist.

"Mum's not here," he said, performing another spectacular kick and ramming another Repercussionist into another.

"No, but I am," said a deep voice behind me, and Hugo and I whirled around.

"Daddy!" I squeaked, and threw my arms around him. "Dad! You've found us! What took you so long? Oh, Daddy, I was so worried…"

"Ron, we'd best get moving," came another voice, and I turned and saw Uncle Harry in combat with another Repercussionist, his wand flashing like mad. "I think they've called for backup."

"Eh, I think we can take them," said James. I gasped in surprise – hadn't seen him standing right next to me. "Hey, Rose. Why aren't you fighting?"

"Well I was, but you lot decided to but in," I said, looking around. Several other Aurors had popped in and were battling Repercussionists all over the place. "Where're Clara and Levy?"

"Who?"

"Here!" Clara cried, dragged along by Levy. "Rosie – catch!"

She threw me my wand and I jumped and caught it, rolled onto the floor to avoid a red jet of light, and began hexing as many hooded figures as I could. Clara and Levy ran off, handing all the others their wands.

"Who was that?" James said interestedly, Stunning a Repercussionist behind me that I didn't see coming.

"Which one?"

"The brunette."

"That's Clara Gutierrez, she's in my year."

"Has she got a boyfriend?"

"James!"

I had to duck away as another incoming spell grazed my hair, and ended up back-to-back with Scorpius, each of us facing a Repercussionist. I couldn't help it – my heart beat accelerated wildly.

"Doing alright there, love?" he said cheerfully.

"Oh, yeah, brilliant," I answered, aiming a curse at the Repercussionist in front of me. I dodged are spell and ended up face to face with Scorp. Words failed me.

"Where's Jun?" he asked quietly.

"Lily!" Came Jun's voice, and we both turned, seeing Lily being cornered against a wall by four hooded figures. Her wand was twenty feet away.

"Lily!" We both screamed, and ran towards her. One them turned around and pointed his wand straight at me. I stopped dead as his spell hit me: it felt like the skin where he'd hit me had turned to ice, and that ice was slowly spreading to cover my entire body. I face-planted into the ground.

"No!" Jun screamed, and punched the one who'd just hexed me. Scorp gave a roar and body slammed another one, managing to knock him down. The other two moved in on Lily and he grabbed their feet, tripping them onto the floor. One reached for their wand and jabbed it into his face. I gave a silent gasp of horror as he rolled over and hit his head against the wall, unconscious.

_Oh, Scorpius, I'm sorry,_ I thought as Jun and Lily fell upon the Repercussionist. _It's all my fault. I'm sorry._


End file.
